University of Missouri Athletics

Out of Eldon, Missouri, Cantwell came to Mizzou and become one of the most dominant track athletes in MU’s proud history. He earned all-America honors seven times, six with the shot put and one with the discus and won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. He notched three top-three NCAA finishes with the shot (2002 indoor, 2003 indoor, and 2003 outdoor) and was NCAA runner-up at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, California. Cantwell was a six-time Big 12 Conference champion, with five conference crowns coming from the outdoor shot put, and the other from the weight throw in 2003. He scored a career-best 20 points at the 2002 Outdoor Big 12 Championship in Columbia (shot put: 1st, hammer throw: 3rd, discus: 5th). He was the 2003 NCAA Mideast Region champion in the shot put and holds school records in the shot both indoors and outdoors. Cantwell qualified for the 2000 USATF Olympic Trials his freshman season and went on to win 2000 Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. He wrapped up his senior season by winning the 2003 IAAF World Athletics Final in Monte Carlo, Monaco. After his collegiate days, he became Mizzou’s first world champion in taking the 2004 IAAF Indoor World Shot Put Championship in 2004 in Budapest, Hungary, and was a three-time USATF Champion (2004 and 2007 indoor, 2005 outdoor). He had eight of the top 10 throws in the world in 2006. He won the gold medal at the IAAF World Championship in Berlin in 2009 and took home golds at the 2004, 2008 and 2010 World Indoor Championships. He was third at the 2011 World Championships and finished fourth at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Cantwell was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.