Feb. 9, 2004

Published February 5, 2004
Link to story on IAAF.org

It didn't take Christian Cantwell (USA) very long to pick up where he left off.

The surprise winner at last September's IAAF World Athletics Final, the 23-year-old shot putter has sat atop the early-season world lists since he resumed competition last month, and he firmly believes that his hefty start bodes well as the 2004 season gathers steam.

"I feel great. In my mind, I'm in 22-metre shape," he said after unleashing a 21.03m throw at Friday's Wildcat Classic in Columbia, Missouri, adding 18cm to his previous indoor best. Two weeks earlier, he opened with a near PB 20.82 after a heavy training week, and a weight training session that morning.

"That was really just an extended practice. I was really enthused about that." All but one of his six throws last weekend were beyond 20.90, while another, measured at 21.42, was nullified for a back of the circle foul. "That was funny," Cantwell, said. "We never get called on those fouls."

He was also "enthused" about his big win in Monaco, a performance that helped set the tone for 2004. But he wasn't particularly surprised.

"I don't ever get surprised," he said, but conceded, "it was nice. I beat some people I hadn't beaten before. It was a good way to end the season, with your biggest win ever." Indeed, it was his first big win, domestic or international, of any kind.

Previous inconsistencies

Though he had a 21.45m PB to his credit prior to 2003, self-professed inconsistencies kept him from capturing an NCAA title while competing for the University of Missouri. Another factor was a nagging pain in the tendon of his throwing hand, one that mysteriously healed itself last May. Now healthy, he says, "I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. And I haven't been able to say that in a long time."

With his hand healed, Cantwell attracted national attention at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where he fought a tight battle with Kevin Toth. Spurred on by the raucous atmosphere of the sold-out Hayward Field crowd, Cantwell finished second with a then-PB 21.47. "That's when everything started coming around for me,' he said. "Until then I had been a little inconsistent and all over the place, but after Prefontaine, I started to really have a good year."

A runner-up finish at the NCAA championships and a fifth place showing at the US Championships capped his domestic season, but Cantwell didn't stop there. After fifth place finishes in Luzern and Prague in late June, his first international win came in Padova on July 6 where he battled John Godina for a narrow one centimetre win, reaching 20.72. Just over a week later, he threw a PB 21.62 to win in Salamanca.

His winning throw came after a 22-metre foul, and, Cantwell recalled, it came with ease. "I didn't even grunt on it. I was just on fire that day. Everything just came together."

College career start

Though he competed in as a high schooler in Eldon, Missouri, Cantwell said he didn't began approaching track and field with a degree of seriousness until he began college. When he decided not to play football at Missouri, he said he simply needed something to fuel his competitive fire. His initial success came in the discus when he finished second at the 1999 US Junior championships to earn a berth on the US team for the Pan-American junior championships. After a silver medal there, he remembers, "I decided, that there may be something to this. At that time I was a Discus thrower. I hated the Shot. But that changed."

In 2000, he reached 19.67 to win his first of four Big-12 conference titles, improved marginally to 19.71 the following year, before bursting through the 20 and 21-metre barriers with a 21.45 in 2002. He ended 2003 ranked fifth in the world by the IAAF.

"Overall, it was a great season," he said, but added that his feet are firmly planted on the ground. "I got my butt kicked quite a few times. But things went well."

Discus future is still a thought

With practice throws near 64 metres, Cantwell said he hasn't entirely abandoned the Discus. "I definitely think that within five years, I can be a world class discus thrower. That's something I definitely want to pursue in the future. Right now, I'm a shot putter, but when I get the time and can spend the time, and learn some of the mechanics of the discus, I think it's something I can do well at."

While many post-collegiates struggle with the transition to the next level, Cantwell said the coaching philosophies of Missouri coaches Rick McGuire and Brett Halter prepared him exceptionally well.

"The way we view competition is so much different that what others do," he said. "I don't put a lot of emphasis on competitions. I'll throw every weekend. I have the understanding that a third of the time you're going to do bad, a third of the time you're going to do good, and a third of the time you're going to do really good. If you don't get those 'bads' out of the way, they're going to come at an inopportune time."

He credits his support staff with giving him the tools to be prepared when it counts. "My strength is my game day mentality. I'm just on autopilot. There's nothing in my mind that has any doubt." His weaknesses, on the other hand, are an aspect he doesn't dwell on, choosing instead to accentuate the positive. "We don't kill ourselves trying to make our weaknesses better," he said of his training philosophy. "We maximize our strengths, and we minimize our weaknesses."

Budapest ticket on his mind

Now based in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he lives with girlfriend Teri Steer, the 1999 World Indoor championships bronze medallist, Cantwell is balancing his final semester at school with his full-time job as a shot putter. "My girlfriend said she won't marry me unless I get my degree," he said.

Structured around his full course load will be upcoming competitions at the Millrose Games on Friday, the Tyson Foods Invitational in Fayetteville the following weekend, and the US Indoor championship in Boston at the end of the month, where he hopes to earn his ticket to Budapest.

Olympics

While most athletes this year have their eyes firmly focused on Athens, Cantwell said he can't even think about the late August Shot Put competition that will kick off the Olympic Games at Olympia. His first and primary obstacle is qualifying for the US team.

"The US team might have two or three guys that could medal, that we have to leave at home," he said. "I'm not even thinking about the Olympics. I'm just trying to get to the trials and do my best there. And if I make the Olympic team, then heck, I don't see there being a favourite then. It's just who's going to show up on that day."

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF