Previews10 Sep 2014


Preview: men's shot – IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014

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David Storl in the mens Shot Put Final at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Moscow 2013 (© Getty Images)

The men’s shot put is an event not lacking in star power.

US champion Joe Kovacs is the world leader at 22.03m, Poland’s Tomasz Majewski is a two-time Olympic champion, and German David Storl the two-time world and two-time European champion. It’s the latter, the youngest of the trio, who will be the man to beat.

Storl has won 13 of 18 competitions this season and improved his PB to 21.97m to clearly emerge as the event’s No. 1. Kovacs meanwhile has five victories to his credit but less consistency than his German rival while the Pole, with a 21.04m season’s best, hasn’t been at the same level.

That leaves the door open for O’Dayne Richards of Jamaica and New Zealander Tom Walsh, the gold and silver medallists from the Commonwealth Games, to score well for the Americas and Asia-Pacific, respectively.

Richards, 25, reached a 21.61m PB to take the victory in Glasgow ahead of Walsh, who threw 21.24m in the Commonwealth qualifying round before a 21.19m in the final. Just 22, Walsh is already seasoned in big competitions, having taken bronze at the World Indoor Championships in March.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

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