2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships Women’s Shot Put Preview
Thrilling Women’s Shot Put Showdown Awaits at 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships
The 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow will feature a thrilling women’s shot put competition, with three 20-metre-plus performers set to clash.
Two-time world champion Chase Jackson (nee Ealey) of the USA, Commonwealth champion and world silver medallist Sarah Mitton of Canada, and European champion Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands will be among the medal contenders. Schilder recently threw a world-leading outright PB of 20.31m, while Jackson boasts the best overall PB of 20.76m.
As the double world champion, Jackson may start as the slight favourite. Known for delivering her best on the big stage, she has thrown comfortably beyond 20 metres at her past three global championships. Schilder, meanwhile, now holds the best indoor PB in the field and is brimming with confidence after a breakout 2022 that saw her earn world bronze indoors and outdoors, as well as European gold.
Mitton has been equally impressive this year, winning all five of her competitions so far and throwing beyond 19.50m in all but one. Her Canadian indoor record of 20.08m, set just before Glasgow, matches the distance she threw to take world silver in Budapest last year.
Beyond the top three, there are several other medal contenders. Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye has improved her PB by 1.30m over the past year, while the USA’s Maggie Ewen, a 20.45m performer, is seeking her first major podium finish. Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd, a two-time world silver medallist, is also in fine form after setting three career-best marks in 2023.
Men’s Shot Put: Crouser’s Bid for Elusive World Indoor Gold
In the men’s event, the iconic Ryan Crouser will aim to reclaim the world indoor title he surprisingly lost to Darlan Romani two years ago. Crouser, the most dominant shot putter in history, has already thrown 22.80m this year, just shy of his own world indoor record.
While Romani’s season’s best of 21.10m is relatively modest, the field features 10 men with PBs beyond 22 metres, including Italy’s Leonard Fabbri, New Zealand’s Tom Walsh, and Jamaica’s Rajindra Campbell. Crouser, a double world and Olympic champion, will need to be at his best to secure the elusive world indoor gold.
🔗 Source
