In an outstanding display of American athletic prowess, Joe Kovacs and Chase Ealey secured gold medals for the United States in the Shot Put Competition at the prestigious Prefontaine Classic (Diamond League Finals).
With unwavering determination, these two American athletes outperformed their rivals and left an indelible mark on Hayward Field during the Shot Put competition.
Sept 16 – Chase Ealey
On September 16, the Women’s shot put competition was led in the early stages by World Silver Medallist Sarah Mitton, who had a best throw of 19.94 meters. But this changed when Ealey came on the scene and recorded an impressive throw of 20.61 meters. She then improved the record and registered a 20.76 meters best throw.
Chase Ealey was the only one to hit past the 20.0 mark, and was thereafter declared the winner.
Results:
1. EALEY, Chase (USA)- 20.76
2. MITTON, Sarah (CAN)- 19.94
3. DONGMO, Auriol (POR)- 19.92
4. SCHILDER, Jessica (NED)- 19.88
5. EWEN, Maggie (USA)- 19.82
6. THOMAS-DODD, Danniel (JAM)- 19.17
Mitton, who got second place, told the media : “I wonder how we beat Chase. She was the class of the field.”
Ealey, on the other hand, conveyed that it was the people around her who made her throw a lot better.
“I have good people around me, and I think that’s really important. It’s really made my throwing a lot better and everything better as a whole.” she said.
Sept 17 – Joe Kovacs
Fit as a fiddle, Joe Kovacs brought down the house when he defeated world record holder and fellow compatriot Ryan Crouser at the Prefontaine Classic.
Crouser and Kovacs, both from USA, dominated the Men’s Shot Put competition.
In the fourth round, Kovacs moved to the top of the leaderboard with a 22.93 meter throw, narrowly ahead of Crouser’s 22.91 meter effort.
Despite his loss, Crouser said that he was still ‘super happy’ with how the season ended.
“Super happy with the season,” he said. “Had a lot of adversity this year that really wasn’t planned — not that it ever is.”
Crouser also commended Kovacs for winning the competition.
“He’s a great competitor and phenomenal at his age to still be at his all-time best, so Joe’s a super impressive athlete, just the longevity of his career and the consistency is really second to none. If I’m going to lose to somebody, I’m glad it was a fellow teammate on Team USA.”
As for Kovacs, he said in an interview that he’s been in pretty good shape for the competition and that it was his third time winning the Diamond Trophy.
“I’m in pretty good shape right now. This is the third Diamond League trophy so it’s always fun to put something next to the other two on the shelf.”
Results:
1. KOVACS, Joe (USA)- 22.93
2. CROUSER, Ryan (USA)- 22.91
3. WALSH, Tom (NZL)- 22.69
4. FABBRI, Leonardo (ITA)- 22.31
5. OTTERDAHL, Payton (USA)- 21.43
6. MIHALJEVIC, Filip (CRO)- 20.98
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