Shot Put, Women

New Zealander Valerie Adams had won the 2008 and 2012 gold medals and 56 consecutive meets from 2010-14. She was still considered the favorite but had undergone five surgeries in the last two years, for various ailments, and was no longer the dominant force she had been. In the final she took the lead in round one with 19.79, followed by American Michelle Carter, the 2015 World Championship bronze medallist, with 19.12. Throwing first, Carter improved to 19.82 in round two to take the lead, only to see Adams respond with 20.42. None of the leaders improved in round three, with China’s Gong Lijiao in third entering the final three throws.

Gong would finish with three fouls, while Adams fouled in rounds four and five. Carter improved in round four to 19.87, but remained in second place, and again had a good mark in round five. In round six, Carter produced a PR effort of 20.63, bettering her previous best by almost one foot (30 cm), and stunningly moved ahead of Adams with only one throw remaining. Adams produced a good effort, 20.39, to try to catch Carter, but would only take silver. Carter had won the first shot put gold medal by an American woman. In the final round, Hungarian Anita Márton threw 19.87 to push Gong off the podium and win bronze.

Carter was the daughter of Mike Carter, the Olympic men’s shot put silver medallist at the 1984 Olympics, who later played nine years in the NFL, all with the San Francisco 49ers, and played on three Super Bowl Championship teams. Adams also came from an athletic family, as her brother, Steven Adams, a 2.13 m center, played in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies.