March 5, 2008

On Friday, 22 February, at an obscure meeting in the small town of Warrensburg, Missouri, 2004 World Indoor Shot Put champion Christian Cantwell threw what may have been the best series ever produced indoors, with six legal efforts over 21.46m. Then after a very long Saturday of traveling, he won the U.S. Indoor championship and earned a spot on the U.S. squad for Valencia on Sunday, the 24th.

His Valencia teammate, Reese Hoffa, is the defending World Indoor champion and 2007 World Outdoor champion as well. Unfortunately for these two men, there is only one championship on offer in Valencia, and only one gold medal in Beijing this summer. And neither can be won merely by impressive throwing résumés.

Cantwell's late-February tear

With the shot contested at three high-visibility meetings on the U.S. domestic schedule, Cantwell didn't lack for competitive opportunity this winter. With 2005 World champion Adam Nelson putting over 22m twice in those contests, though, Cantwell may have seen a need to establish himself as a real contender before the national championships.

Whatever his motivation, he found an accomplice in the head coach at the University of Central Missouri, Kip Janvrin, himself an Olympic decathlete in 2000. At the Central Missouri Classic on February 22nd, Cantwell threw 21.46m, 22.07m, 21.79m, 22.18m, 21.98m, and 21.66m, with the second mark his first over 22m undercover and the fourth, the second best this year. Cantwell's opening blast was nearly four metres beyond the best mark of the second-placed thrower in the field of collegians. With two PB marks in one day and less than half a metre between him and the World Record of 22.66m, Cantwell looked forward to contending with Nelson in Boston.