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Lineups Revealed for Elite Shot Put and Team Shot Put Showcase at Drake RelaysPublished by
Drake Relays Drake Athletic Communications Lineups Revealed for Elite Shot Put and Team Shot Put Showcase at Drake Relays Several of the world’s best to compete in team battle at Drake Fieldhouse and elite individual competitions in Drake Stadium "The Team Shot Put Showcase and elite shot put events have been hits at the Drake Relays," Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays Blake Boldon said. "We're ecstatic to feature some of the most athletically gifted athletes on the planet in two of the most historically significant venues in collegiate sports and track and field. Relays fans will again appreciate getting to see these throwers display their power and finesse as they aim for new heights, or lengths, next week." The Team Shot Put Showcase is free and open to the public, with priority seating available for Drake Relays ticket holders. Doors to the event open at 5 p.m. for a youth throws exhibition hosted by USATF Iowa beginning at 5:30 p.m., followed by warm-ups at 6 p.m. The team competition will begin in earnest at 6:30 p.m. Throughout the evening, a live DJ will keep the energy going between throws, and various food and beverage options will be available on Forest Avenue. Contestants will be divided into four mixed teams of two for the Team Shot Put Showcase. The best throw from each male and female competitor on each team will be added to crown a champion. Below are the pairings for this year's indoor competition. Team Shot Put Showcase Jessica Woodard & Rajindra Campbell Axelina Johansson & Tripp Piperi Josie Schaefer & Chukwuebuka Enekwechi Jessica Ramsey & Payton Otterdahl Last year's first-ever rendition of the team showcase was won by returning competitor Tripp Piperi and his teammate Maggie Ewen. Piperi will bring his victorious experience from last year and welcome Swedish national record holder Axelina Johansson as his teammate for 2024. Ewen and Piperi bested last year's groupings with a distance of 40.90m/134'-2", edging the pairing of Jessica Woodard, a returner in this year's field, and Ryan Crouser, who holds both indoor and outdoor world records. Crouser has made the difficult decision to scratch from the elite men's shot put and Team Shot Put Showcase this year. Crouser, who has won titles at each of the last five Drake Relays, has his sights set on his third consecutive Olympic title in the event. "While we are disappointed that Drake Relays fans won't be able to experience the spectacle that is Ryan Crouser in the shot put, we fully support him and his decision as he prepares to chase down another Olympic gold medal this summer." Boldon added. "Regardless, the elite shot put fields are stacked with the world's best throwers who will put on a entertaining contest." The elite men's shot put field boasts an accomplished field of world-ranked throwers vying for the title in Drake Stadium. Seven of the eight participants in this year's illustrious group possess a current top-25 global ranking. Ranked fifth in the world for men's shot put, Payton Otterdahl proves to be one of the favorites for the 2024 title. The American aims to raise his place on the podium from previous years after taking third place at the Relays in 2022 and 2023. Otterdahl placed tenth at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and his personal best distance of 22.11m/72'-6 1/2" places him at the top of the field for this year's elite event. Piperi, last year's runner-up in both the indoor and outdoor shot put, looks to build off his 2023 finishes. The American is currently slotted twelfth in the latest world rankings and has held a rank as high as eighth. Piperi is a four-time top-five finisher at the U.S. Championships and was a two-time NCAA champion at Texas. Nigerian national record holder Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (21.80m/71'6 1/4") also makes his return to Drake Stadium. The 2020 Olympian currently holds a top-10 global ranking. Enekwechi took third (indoor) and fifth (outdoor) in the elite men's shot put last year. Rajindra Campbell forecasts to be another one of the top international challengers. The Jamaican indoor and outdoor national record holder and 2023 national champion has a No. 13 world rank and placed eighth at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile. Seven-time Mexico national champion Uziel Muñoz rounds out the international contenders on the men's side. The No. 16 world-ranked Muñoz has twice earned a medal at the Pan American Games (2019, 2023). Two Americans both world-ranked in the top-25 and slated to toss in Drake Stadium are Roger Steen and Jordan Geist. Steen claims the third-best personal record in the 2024 lineup with a heave of 22.08m/72'-5 1/4". Geist, meanwhile, is only one year removed from his victories at the NCAA Indoor National Championships and NCAA Outdoor National Championships in 2023 as a member of the University of Arizona track and field team. Ole Miss sophomore and 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships winner Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan will also compete in the elite ranks. At only 20 years old, the rising star has already accomplished a world ranking of No. 42. Paralympian Josh Cinnamo will also be competing alongside the elites in the men's division. Cinnamo, who holds the world record in the F46 shot put, graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he was a multisport athlete competing in both football and track and field. Cinnamo has already earned a first place finish this year at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships in March. He also took home the gold at the Parapan American Games in 2023. The women's elite shot put lineup also promises to be an entertaining and highly competitive field. A diverse selection will include four American and international professionals alongside the country's best from the collegiate ranks. Fans of the Relays will look forward to watching the top-placing returner from 2023, Axelina Johansson. Johansson finished third in last year's elite shot put and won the university/college event in 2022. She is currently a member of the University of Nebraska track and field team, but also has an accomplished resume in international competition. Presently ranked No. 16 in the world, Johansson is Sweden's indoor and outdoor shot put national record holder. She represented Sweden and captured an eighth-place finish at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Glasgow, Scotland earlier this March. Jessica Woodard also makes the trip back to Des Moines in 2024 as the other returner from last year's field. The former Oklahoma Sooner and Big 12 Conference champion placed fifth at the 2023 Relays. She has finished in the top-five in each of the last five U.S. Championships and has the third-best personal record in the field at 19.40m/63'-1 1/4". Woodard brings with her to this year's competition the top ranking in the field, holding a rank of No. 13 in the world. Having achieved one of the best women's shot put distances in American history and making her return to the Relays is Jessica Ramsey. Ramsey holds the sixth-best mark in U.S. history at 20.12m/66'-1/4" at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials. Ramsey, who has held a world ranking as high as sixth, last competed at the Drake Relays in 2017. Joining Johannson as collegiate athletes leveling up to the elite competition this year is her teammate at Nebraska, Miné de Klerk, and a pair of Ole Miss teammates, Jalani Davis and Jasmine Mitchell. Davis is slotted at No. 19 in the most recent women's shot put world rankings. A multievent standout in her senior season at Ole Miss, Davis won the weight throw and took third in the shot put at the 2024 NCAA Indoor National Championships and has Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles in both events. Josie Schaefer (personal best of 18.98m/62'-3.1/4") and Portious Warren (personal best of 18.75m/61'-6 1/4") round out the women's competitors in 2024's elite event. Single session tickets are now available, and the Saturday session is heading toward a 57th-consecutive sellout. Tickets for the 2024 Drake Relays are available here. Men's Shot Put Rajindra Campbell (Jamaica)
Women's Shot Put Jalani Davis (Ole Miss)
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