As a matter of fact, she is.

Here is the evidence.

Exhibit A: US Women’s Discus Throws over 65m

Okay, I know that’s hard to read, but I couldn’t cut and paste the damn thing without the margins going all goofy. Basically, what you’ve got there is a list of the 40 throws of 65m or better that have been produced by American women.  By  no means does Gia dominate that list. Suzy Powell has the most throws over 65m with ten, followed by Gia with nine.  Stephanie Brown-Trafton has the farthest throw on the list (67.74m) followed by Powell (67.67m) and then Gia (67.59m).  However, take a look at…

Exhibit B:  Throws over 65m in International Competition

67.59m  Gia   (Glasgow)

66.29m Gia  (Zagreb)

65.77m  Gia  (Oslo)

65.59m Gia (Paris)

65.38m Powell  (Rethimno)

65.10m Aretha Thurmond (Monaco)

This list, she does dominate.  And why, you may ask, is that a big deal?

That is a big deal because the throws on this list were taken inside of stadiums overseas.

I’m not going to condemn anyone for seeking out windy climates in an effort to break a record or achieve an “A” standard.  But throwing bombs on the California coast has zero relevance when it comes time to go up against the best of the best at the Olympics or the World Championships, which are held…inside of stadiums overseas.

In order to contend for a medal, a female discus thrower must set aside  the distractions of travel and the lack of those lovely ocean breezes and throw at least 65 meters.

Among American discus throwers, Gia has become the best at doing just that.

There are those who would argue that Stephanie Brown-Trafton should be considered the best ever after winning  gold at the 2008 Olympics. I am a big fan of Stephanie, who is on the comeback trail after giving birth nine months ago. Last week, at the Chicagoland Throws meet she told me that she is feeling good and just needs to build up her strength levels in order to return to peak form. But the peak form that got her the gold in Beijing in 2008 with a throw of 64.74m is unlikely to win her a spot on the medal stand in Beijing in 2015 or in Rio in 2016.  Sondra Perkovic, the defending World and Olympic champion, has shown a consistent knack for throwing 68-69m at the biggest meets. Australia’s Dani Samuels is having a great year, and there are a handful of others who have recently thrown 65+m in stadiums.

The only American thrower ever who has shown the ability to hang with that crowd is Gia.

Actually, she has done more than hang with them as of late. Last week in Glasgow in this stadium…

 

 …she handed Perkovic her first loss of the season by launching a PR throw of 67.59m.

Gia is now the only thrower to have defeated Perkovic over the last two years. That alone might qualify her as the best.

 

 

A two-time NCAA champion while throwing for Illinois State University, Tim Glover will try to show that he belongs at the top of the professional level as well when he competes in the USATF Championships this Sunday in Sacramento.

Glover announced himself as a world class javeliner this April when he unloaded a world-leading  84.01m in Knoxville. Currently, that throw ranks him 13th in the world.

It is a bit remarkable that Tim was able to unleash a throw of that caliber because at the time he was still attending classes at ISU three days per week from 9am until 3pm.

He attributes his improvement partially to an increase in strength.  With a 315-lb bench press, a 500-lb back squat and a 319-lb power clean the javelin has been “feeling light” in his hand.

Also contributing to his breakthrough is his ability to maintain speed on the runway.

“Last year my coach (Scott Bennett) came in and we worked all speed. I dropped some weight and focused on how fast I could go..never could catch one, or any for that matter. I would always miss the point and it  got frustrating but I kept reminding myself that this year was a transition year and if I wanted to improve in the future the speed would have to increase. This year my speed isn’t crazy on the runway but it is faster and more comfortable. I am still working on keeping it up through the crossovers and also working on driving out not up.”

Coach Bennett agrees that Tim’s increased strength has been a big plus, and he also credits Tim’s improvement in “blowing the right side through to the brake” during the last two steps of his throws.

Bennett also believes that Glover has the “perfect demeanor” for his event, describing his as “modest, independent, and even-tempered.”

That temperament will be put to the test on Sunday by a field that includes veterans such as Cyrus Hostetler, Sean Furey, and Craig Kinsley, and last year’s US champion Riley Dolezal. Also competing is  the physically imposing Sam Humphreys. At the Tuscon Elite meet earlier this season,  Humphreys– who looks like he might be able to throw a telephone pole 80 meters– defeated Glover in a battle to determine who would get the final spot in the jav field at the Prefontaine Diamond League meeting that took place over Memorial Day weekend.

Glover is still waiting for his first chance to go up against the world’s best.

A win on Sunday would go a long way toward establishing Glover as a consistently world class performer and possibly get him invited to some meets in Europe where he could show that he is ready to take the next next step.

 

 

 

 

Size matters in the shot put.

There’s just no getting around it.

Exhibit A:

              

From right to left, World Indoor Champion Ryan Whiting, two-time Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski, my friend Peter Trofimuk, Joe Kovacs (currently ranked fourth in the world), and World Outdoor Championships finalist Cory Martin.

Exhibit B:

From right to left, Dan McQuaid the author of this article, and Christian Cantwell one of the greatest putters of all time.

What do these fine throwers have in common? They are biiiiiig boys. I’m 6’2″, 215lbs (most of it in the biceps) and Christian makes me look…well…kind of wimpy.

Same for Cory, Tomasz, and Ryan.

There is one exception here, though, and that is Joe Kovacs.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Joe is clearly not a normal human being. He is tremendously fast and strong. But, so are the other guys in those photos, and they are much larger than Joe.

Yet, at the recent Diamond League meet in Shanghai, Kovacs defeated all of them with the exception of Cantwell, who beat him by 21 centimeters.

How did this happen?  Let’s take a look.

Here are Whiting, Cantwell, and Kovacs at the point at which their right foot first leaves the ground:

Whiting…

 

Cantwell…

Kovacs…

Though Cantwell does not bend his left knee as much as the other two, it looks to me like all three are adhering to a similar technical template.  Notice that each keeps his left shoulder closed as the right foot leaves the ground.  This gives them a chance to get their right hip and leg ahead of their upper body as they run the ring.

Whiting…

Cantwell…

Kovacs…

Christian does not sweep his right leg as wide as the other two, but all three have kept their right shoulder back as their right hip begins to pull them out of the back of the ring.

Here are all three at the point where their right foot touches down in the center of the ring.

Whiting…

Cantwell…

Kovacs…

Here is the first sign that Kovacs might be taking a slightly different approach with his technique.

All three have done a great job of keeping their upper body passive and pulling their left leg out of the back of the ring so that they can get both feet grounded in the power position before their shoulders begin turning into the throw.

 Joe, however, seems to be more aggressive about accentuating the separation between his right hip and his shoulders as his right foot touches down. Notice that his right foot is turned farther as it touches the concrete, and that he is really working that left arm across his chest in an effort to keep the shot back.

Here are our fearsome threesome at the moment the left foot touches down in the power position.

Whiting…

Cantwell…

Kovacs…

All three have their weight back on a bent right leg as their left arm sweeps forward to set up a pre-stretching of the chest muscles, but look at the difference in the right elbow as the left foot grounds.

Kovacs is much more wrapped than the other two, thus giving himself a chance to use every ounce of his leg strength to accelerate the shot.

Each of these throws was a bomb. Whiting…21.31m.  Kovacs…21.52m.  Cantwell…21.73m.

But I have to believe that the reason Joe is able to hang with guys who have a significant size advantage is because of his ability to hit a really solid power position.

–McQ

 

Three Things I know (No Secrets here)

Part Two : Work a Wide Right Leg from the back to the middle

These three high level concepts will work well as a tune up before the big meets in May and June.  You won’t get bogged down with complex details and “forget how to throw”.   They are also foundation concepts that can and should be mastered from the beginning of your throwing career.

The three moves are good for advanced and beginning throwers as well.  They are easy to grasp and execute.  The trick is executing them well in the whole movement of the throw.

Each of these three concepts have many sub parts or details that can be explored and I will list a few of them.  Primarily, though, I am looking at these as high level movements, positions and rhythm that can be approached with the end result in mind.  Work one idea or all three per throw in training or competition.

1.    See the Horizon to the Target (throw direction)

Slow Down, see the horizon to the target.  Let the eyes and left arm lead the body to the target.

2.    Work a Wide Right Leg from the Back of the circle to the Middle

The Right Leg is your engine for the throw

The wide right leg works/races ahead of the paused or slowed left side to create torque.

Starting too fast in the unwind and first turn with the left side makes the right leg go fast to catch up to the left side.  To go fast it works like a hammer thrower’s right leg, short, fast and close to the left knee.  This narrow and fast right leg has NO POWER in the middle of the circle.  It has a short radius and is trying to catch up to the fast upper body.  It never does in this case.  It is forced to create a fast to slower rhythm.  Longer and slower on the first turn to shorter and faster in the middle is the correct but counter intuitive rhythm for the throw.

“On your mark.  Get Set…”

We are only trying to get down to a powerful start position at the back of the circle like a sprinter in the blocks in the “set” position at the start of a race.  Think about what position will create the most power for you when facing the throw direction in the single leg support phase.  How can you create the most linear AND rotational force with your right leg?  How can you best make your hips rotate as fast as possible in the middle of the circle?  Feet and knees close together is not a powerful starting position.  A wide right leg out the back of the circle with the left thigh vertical (left hip out) providing some unseat to the target just naturally feels powerful.  See the photos below.

Also note the upper body posture.

No, he really isn’t throwing here, just finding the position during a competition.

LJ Silvester, the Original, First over 60m, First over 70m.

 

 

Throwers start with different timing and different right leg action at the back.  LJ Silvester and Wolfgang Schmidt got their right foot off the ground sooner than anyone in relation to the turning of the left side.  Their right leg swept forward leading with the inside of the thigh.  Others (Lars Reidel below) keep the right foot on the ground longer at the back and lead more with the top of the thigh with a bit of a hitch kick action.

In any case:

1. All who do this effectively will show in the shortened position a right leg with the foot slightly under or behind the knee similar to  a sprinter’s leg position.

2. The key is to not turn the left side too fast so the right leg cannot swing wide before shortening and accelerating ahead of the left side, creating torque.  When you have that down, don’t forget Point #1 about pausing or slowing the left side somewhere while turning on the left leg  to ensure the right leg can get ahead to create torque.

Using the Wide Right Leg DOES NOT require a 600lb squat.  It is a position you move through.

14 yr. old non weight trained female with wide right leg.

Whatever you do at the back of the circle you must repeat at the front, whether good or bad.  If you want to throw the discus with your right hip ahead of the right shoulder (for right handed throwers) then work the right hip (wide right leg) at the back to the middle of the circle to lead the upper body.  If you lead with your head and shoulders at the start you will lead into  the throw with your head and shoulders first in the delivery.   Good Luck with that one.

Other side notes.

Left Side Drive v Right Leg Engine – Its OK to push with the left leg at the back of the circle.  Just maintain the integrity of the throw rhythm.  You do want to load the left foot as you turn at the back getting into the “set position”.  Getting the left foot down as fast as possible at the front is NOT the goal.  Getting the left foot down AT THE RIGHT TIME  is the goal.

Keep the right foot close to the ground – yes, if you are hopping up in the middle and destroying your rhythm.  But if the right foot is close to the ground all the way, you are losing power by having a shorter right leg radius.  Check out the long right leg on Ms “Seventy Meter Sandy” Perkovic below.  She’s not skimming the ground with the right foot.

Below are More Long, Wide, and Relatively Slower Right Legs waiting to shorten and accelerate the rotation of the hips and discus/shot put.

Guess Who?

 

 

 

Over 110 video lessons on the shot and discus at

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