Kara Patterson reached 65.90m in the final round to steal the victory in Eugene (© Kirby Lee)
Talk about quality! Each of the four throwing events at the 2011 Prefontaine Classic on 4 June, the fourth stop of the 2011 Samsung Diamond League Series, features the returning Diamond Race Trophy winners, while three of the four events include the reigning Olympic or World Champion.
In the men’s Shot Put, current World Champion Christian Cantwell returns to Eugene, where he set a monster Pre Classic meet record of (22.41m) in 2010. The 30-year-old American is also the Olympic silver medallist from Beijing. And the Olympic gold medallist from those 2008 Olympic Games? That would be Poland’s Tomasz Majewski, who is also in the Pre Classic field. Trading places with Cantwell, Majewski was the silver medallist at the 2009 Berlin World Championships. In fact, with Reese Hoffa (World Championships gold in 2007) and Adam Nelson (World Championships gold in 2005) of the USA in the field, that’s three World Shot Put champions.
But wait! Add in Andrey Mikhnevich of Belarus, the 2003 World Champion, and the Eugene Samsung Diamond League Shot Put includes every World Champion since the turn of the century! Also in the field is Canada's Dylan Armstrong, the winner of the series kick-off in Doha last Friday.
The medal count continues in the men’s Discus Throw, with Robert Harting of Germany stacking his 2009 World Championships gold against the 2008 Olympic gold of Estonia’s Gerd Kanter - the winner in Doha last weekend - and the recent Olympic Games/World Championships silvers of Poland’s Piotr Malachowski, the Samsung Diamond Race trophy winner in the event. And for those counting medals, it’s hard to beat the seven claimed by super-vet Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania, including two Olympic and one World Championships golds.
That quality continues in the women’s Shot Put, with 2010 series winner Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus heading the field. She'll be joined by compatriot Natallia Mikhnevich, Anna Avdeyeva of Russia, Jillian Camarena-Williams of the United States. Ostapchuk has a complete set of World Championships medals, as well as an Olympic bronze from Beijing. Mikhnevich is the Olympic silver medalist from the 2008 Games. And each of the top four threw farther last year than the venerable Prefontaine Classic meet record of 19.19m set by Connie Price-Smith in 1997.
The same can be said of the women’s Javelin Throw, with six of the eight competitors having thrown farther last year than the current Prefontaine Classic meet record of 65.90m set last year by Kara Patterson. Both Patterson, and former meet record holder Barbora Spotakova, are in the field. Spotakova is the reigning Olympic Champion and 2007 World Champion and the event's World record holder. The 29-year-old Czech will need to fend off last year's world leader Mariya Abakumova of Russia and Christina Obergfoll of Germany, South African Sunette Viljoen and Martina Ratej of Slovenia. Obergfoll is the bronze medallist from the Beijing Games, Abakumova won silver in Beijing and bronze at the 2009 World Championships, and Patterson is the current US record holder.
Samsung Diamond League
SHOT PUT (MEN)
Christian Cantwell
?Reese Hoffa
?Andrey Mikhnevich (Belarus)
?Tomasz Majewski (Poland)
?Dylan Armstrong (Canada)
?Adam Nelson?
Ryan Whiting
?Cory Martin
DISCUS THROW (MEN)
?Robert Harting (Germany)
?Piotr Malachowski (Poland)?
Gerd Kanter (Estonia)
?Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania)
?Zoltan Kovago (Hungary)
?Casey Malone?
Jason Young
?Ian Waltz
SHOT PUT (WOMEN)
?Nadzeya Ostapchuk (Belarus)
?Natallia Mikhnevich (Belarus)?
Anna Avdeyeva (Russia)?
Jill Camarena-Williams
?Michelle Carter?
Sarah Stevens-Walker
Natalia Duco (Chile)
JAVELIN THROW (WOMEN)
?Barbora Spotakova (Czech Rep)
?Christina Obergfoll (Germany)?
Mariya Abakumova (Russia)
?Sunette Viljoen (South Africa)
?Kara Patterson?
Martina Ratej (Slovenia)?
Madara Palameika (Latvia)
?Rachel Yurkovich
