Young Talent Ready to Cement Spots in History

By Scott Bush, DyeStat Editor

When American Randy Barnes set the world record in the men's shot put in May 1990, recent Olympic silver medalist Joe Kovacs was 11 months old. Reigning gold medalist Ryan Crouser and bronze medalist Tom Walsh weren't born yet.

What all three have in common as the 2017 season gets underway is that Barnes' world record of 75-10.25 (23.12m) is in the sights of all three men, making the shot put one of the top events to follow this year. 

Recently, the IAAF profiled Crouser, where the American discussed the chase for the world record:

“I think it will happen before 2020,” he said. “We are such a young group and with four more years at least one of us should be over 23 metres."

Kovacs, 27, and Crouser and Walsh, both 24, are a new generation of shot putter, young athletes who saw the likes of Christian Cantwell, John Godina and Adam Nelson lead the event on the world stage. The trio are now the dominant stars in their event.

In 2016, the top 14 throws in the world came from the three athletes, as they swept the Olympic medals. Walsh won the world indoor title (Crouser and Kovacs did not compete).

Different than generations past, all three men believe they can take down the world record. The IAAF profiled Crouser saying as much, with both Walsh and Kovacs mentioning their desire to take down Barnes' mark.

Whether or not they achieve such greatness remains to be seen, but having three athletes vying for a world record and squaring off head to head throughout the season will make the men's shot put one of the premier events of the 2017 season.