{"id":481,"date":"2014-06-19T18:08:17","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T23:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=481"},"modified":"2014-06-22T06:43:11","modified_gmt":"2014-06-22T11:43:11","slug":"der-harting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcthrows.com\/?p=481","title":{"rendered":"der Harting at the Adidas Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you ever fantasize about things you’d like to have a reason to say at some point in your life?<\/p>\n

I’m a fifty-year-old guy, so tops on my list are statements like…<\/p>\n

“For god’s sake, I wish Angelina Jolie would stop sexting me!”<\/p>\n

Or…<\/p>\n

“Good news, honey!\u00a0 The doctor says I actually need to gain<\/em> weight!”<\/p>\n

I’m also a throws\u00a0fan who loves the discus and in particular the way the Germans throw the discus so also high on my list would be something along the lines of…<\/p>\n

“I’m going to watch discus film with Robert Harting.”<\/p>\n

And last Saturday, I actually got to say that. Here’s how it happened:<\/p>\n

Anyone who knows me knows that the one really, really smart thing I’ve done in my life was to marry the Most Patient Woman in the World. This woman knows how much I love the throws, so last weekend she\u00a0accompanied me on\u00a0a trip to\u00a0cover the Adidas Grand Prix Diamond League Meeting in New York. Due to the demands of television, the men’s discus competition (featuring most of the guys who made the final in last year’s World Championships) was the first event of the day, and I had a primo view of the competition.<\/p>\n

\"adidas<\/a><\/p>\n

Standing next to me throughout was a woman named Vera, the manager of the German throwing contingent competing that day. It was fun watching the meet with her as she fretted over the wind (it seemed to constantly change directions), beamed when her throwers performed well (Harting and javelin thrower Linda Stahl both set meet records), suffered when they did not (Martin Wierig did not advance past the first three throws), and made the occasional tart comment (when I noted the hugeness of one of the competitors she replied, “And yet, his head is so small”).<\/p>\n

A bonus of watching the competition alongside Vera was that as the discus ended and the women’s javelin began, Martin Wierig came over and sat by her. I knew he was bummed about his performance, but\u00a0a friend of mine is a big\u00a0fan of Martin’s\u00a0so I just had to get a picture.\u00a0 I asked as nicely as\u00a0one should when approaching a 6’6″\u00a0man in a lousy mood, \u00a0and he graciously complied.<\/p>\n

\"wierig\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The dude visible over Martin’s left shoulder is the Australian thrower Benn Harradine, on his way over to watch teammate Kathyrn Mitchell compete in the jav.<\/p>\n

Harradine, it turns out, is a really nice guy and a lot of fun to talk to. You can find\u00a0part of our conversation\u00a0here:<\/p>\n