![\"Dan](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mcthrows.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Dan-phone-may-2013-011.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFrom 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.<\/p>\n
Exhibit B:<\/p>\n
From right to left, Dan McQuaid the author of this article, and\u00a0Christian Cantwell one of the\u00a0greatest putters of all time.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Same for Cory, Tomasz, and Ryan.<\/p>\n There is one exception here, though, and that is Joe Kovacs.<\/p>\n Now, don’t get me wrong. Joe is clearly not a normal human being. He is tremendously fast and strong.\u00a0But, so are\u00a0the other guys in those photos, and they are much larger than Joe.<\/p>\n Yet, at the recent Diamond League meet in Shanghai,\u00a0Kovacs defeated all of them with the exception of Cantwell, who beat him by 21 centimeters.<\/p>\n How did this happen?\u00a0 Let’s\u00a0take a look.<\/p>\n Here are\u00a0Whiting, Cantwell, and Kovacs at the point\u00a0at which their right foot first leaves the ground:<\/p>\n Whiting…<\/p>\n Cantwell…<\/p>\n Kovacs…<\/p>\n Though Cantwell does not bend his left knee as much as the other two, it looks to me like all three are\u00a0adhering to\u00a0a similar technical template.\u00a0 Notice that each keeps his left shoulder closed as the right foot leaves the ground.\u00a0 This gives them a chance to get their right hip and leg ahead of their upper body as they run the ring.<\/p>\n Whiting…<\/p>\n Cantwell…<\/p>\n Kovacs…<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Here are all three at the point where their right foot touches down in the center of the ring.<\/p>\n Whiting…<\/p>\n Cantwell…<\/p>\n Kovacs…<\/p>\n Here is the first sign that Kovacs might be taking a slightly different approach with his technique.<\/p>\n All three have done a great job of keeping their upper body passive\u00a0and 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\u00a0into the throw.<\/p>\n \u00a0Joe, 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.<\/p>\n Here are our fearsome threesome at the moment the left foot touches down in the power position.<\/p>\n Whiting…<\/p>\n Cantwell…<\/p>\n Kovacs…<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Each of these throws was a bomb. Whiting…21.31m.\u00a0 Kovacs…21.52m.\u00a0 Cantwell…21.73m.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n –McQ<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Size matters in the shot put. There’s just no getting around it. Exhibit A: \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 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, … Continue reading Keeping Up With The Big Boys<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n