A two-time shot put world champion, this American athlete left spectators in awe of him in Eugene, Oregon. Competing for the meet title in the Prefontaine Classic, the track and field legend produced a personal best throw of the season. He was mindful of his formidable opponent, who defeated him in the World Athletic Championships just a month ago.

Ryan Crouser won the world title with a throw measuring 23.50 feet. Now, a video of the legend is making the rounds on social media that show him matching Crouser’s throw during the final practice before the championships. The Nazareth native lost his bid for the third world title in Budapest. He had a total of six throws, out of which only one reached the 22-meter mark. What went wrong between his practice session and the actual competition?

Unraveling Joe Kovacs’ World Championship performance discrepancy

The Penn State track and field standout barely made the podium during the shot put world championship finals. Joe Kovacs best throw was 22.12 meters, which fell short of reigning world champion Ryan Crouser’s throw of 23.50 meters. In the other five throws, Joe Kovacs stayed under the 22-meter mark and even recorded a foul in one of his throws. Now, a video has further complicated the matter and upstarted speculations about his performance.

The short video clip from his final pre-championship practice session was shared on X by Throwers Universe with an accompanying post that read, “Sources claim that Joe Kovacs’ final practice before World Championships included AT LEAST one throw in the range of 23.50m…” This revelation has begged the question of whether the nerves got to the legendary athlete.

This was quite unusual for the 34-year-old track and field legend who had a long line of successes in his sporting career. He has four world championship medals, one Olympic silver medal, and multiple national championships under his belt. Joe Kovacs has two more world championship silver medals, but this was the first time he ranked third. This hurt his self-esteem, and he waited for the Diamond League finals to even the score with his rivals.

Joe Kovacs trounces track and field rivals

Joe Kovacs had a strong finish in the Diamond League finals and bested one of the greats of shot put. He outdid himself from the pre-championships practice throw, with one measuring 22.93 meters. His rival and fellow countryman Ryan Crouser fell short by 2 centimeters. Kovacs not only delivered his best throw of the 2023 season but also recorded the second-best throw of his career.

Read More: Joe Kovacs Breaks the World Lead to Upset Fellow Countryman by Mere 2cms to Lift Gold in Diamond League Finals

The shot put champion does not want to let go of this momentum. Going forward, he hopes to revive this “Big Dad Energy” in all future competitions. Now that the track and field sport is entering the most hyped period with the Olympics looming in the distance, this is the perfect time for the athlete to get into the winning mindset.

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