American Upsets Two-Time Defending Olympic Champion Valerie Adams

By Scott Bush

Medal Tracker | Results | Olympic Games Page

It was a magic ending to the first day of track and field action at the Olympic Games, as American shot put champion Michelle Carter used her last throw to not only break the American record, but upset two-time defending champion Valerie Adams (NZL) to win gold.

Through the first three throws, Carter sat in second with a best of 19.82m, only trailing Adams' 20.42. The New Zealand star seemed confident gold would be hers, but Carter's consistency paid off in the end. 

Heading into the last round, Carter had improved her best to 19.87m on her fourth throw, but still trailed Adams, who's 20.42m remained her best on the day. As Carter glided through the ring in round six, the shot exploded from her arm, flying through the air and landing with a measurement of 20.63m. Carter watched in awe, stunned by her effort, pushing her into first place with Adams having one more throw left. 

Adams stepped into the ring determined to retake the top spot, but as she released her final throw, the shot put fell at 20.39m, giving a teary-eyed Carter her first Olympic medal and a gold one at that.

Carter's Series: 19.12m - 19.82m - 19.44m - 19.87m - 19.84m - 20.63m

Not to be overlooked, Carter broke her own American record of 20.24m set back in 2013

Women's Shot Put Results - Final

Time to Celebrate

While American fans celebrated a perfect finish to day one Olympic track and field action, much was being celebrated across the Twittersphere by 

Reigning world shot put champion Joe Kovacs, Carter's American teammate, tweeted his congratulations.

Christian Taylor, defending Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump, was equally as proud and excited.