Ryan Whiting of the USA celebrates after winning gold in the men's Shot Put - WIC Istanbul (© Getty Images)
World indoor champion Ryan Whiting and Christina Schwanitz took the plaudits at the famous German Shot Put event, the Nordhauser Energie Indoor meeting, on Friday (18).
In absence of Germany's injured London 2012 Olympic Games silver medallist David Storl, the winner in Nordhausen 12 months ago, Americans dominated the men's event this year and filled the top three places.
Whiting won with his opening effort, a 2013 world-leading mark of 21.10m, while Cory Martin reached 20.59m and former World champion and 2007 Nordhausen winner Reese Hoffa was third with 20.25m in front of a capacity 2000 crowd. The US trio were the only three men over 20 metres.
The fourth man in to the circle, Martin also had his best mark in the first round, just one centiemtre short of his indoor best, but four throwers later Whiting produced the best effort of the evening and no one else got near toppling his from first place.
Martin rattled off five fouls with his remaining throws as he put everything into trying to go over 21 metres but Whiting was the man on form. He subsequently had three fouls, followed by 20.53m in round five but then went out to 21.08m with the last put of the competition.
In the women's competition, Germany's 2011 Europrean Athletics Indoor Championships silver medallist Christina Schwanitz with her fourth round effort of 19.17m, jsut 11cm away from the meeting record. All five of her valid throws would have won on the night.
Her compatriot and 2012 European Athletics Championships winner Nadine Kleinert was a distant second with 18.01m.
There was also an impressive performance by 17-year-old Patrick Muller in the boys’ event, sending the 5kg implement out to 21.39m. It was just four centimetres short of the best indoor distance ever by a youth, with Storl having reached 21.43m in 2007.
Sandra Arm (organisers) for the IAAF
