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Medal record
Hoffa in 2012.
Men's Athletics
Competitor for the  United States
World Championships
Gold	2007 Osaka	Shot put
World Indoor Championships
Gold	2006 Moscow	Shot put
Silver	2008 Valencia	Shot put
Pan American Games
Gold	2003 Santo Domingo	Shot put

Reese Hoffa (born October 8, 1977 in Evans, Georgia) is an American shot putter. Reese won the shot put in the 2006 World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Moscow, Russia. As of 2007, his personal bests stand at 22.11 m (72' 6.25") indoor and 22.43 m (73' 7") outdoor. His outdoor performance ranks him 11th on the world all-time lists. He is married to Renata Hoffa, a math teacher at Oconee County High School.

Hoffa was adopted at the age of four.^[1]

Hoffa won world champions' title in shot put in Osaka, on 25 August 2007, with a throw of 22.04 m, 43 cm ahead of compatriot and training partner Adam Nelson.

His current residence is Athens, Georgia. His coach is Don Babbitt, agent Paul Doyle and club NYAC/Nike. His core workouts leading towards the 2012 Olympics in London were designed by Corey Davis.

Reese is also known as a decent speedcuber able to solve a Rubik's Cube in 30 seconds.

Reese is active in social media, maintaining an active Twitter account, @hoffathrows, as well as numerous Youtube videos.

In 2012, he threw over 21 meters in competition for the 100th time, putting him in rarefied air in the throwing community.

High School Years[link]

Hoffa attended Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia, and was a letterman in football, wrestling, baseball, and track & field. His Lakeside High School coach was David Machovec.

Career highlights[link]

Hoffa in action at the 2010 Bislett Games

1997–2003[link]

• 1997
  • 5th at National Scholastics
• 1998
  • 3rd at SEC Outdoors
  • 11th at NCAA Outdoors
• 1999
  • 2nd at Southeastern Conference Champs
  • 11th at NCAA Outdoors
  • 8th at USA Outdoors
• 2000
  • 6th at U.S. Olympic Trials in (18.95)
  • 2nd at NCAA Indoors (18.48)
  • 4th in SP at NCAA Outdoors (19.79)
  • Ranked 5th in U.S; best of 19.79, 49.04 for discus
• 2001
  • 6th at USA Outdoors (19.95)
  • 3rd at NCAA Outdoors (19.93)
  • SEC Outdoor champ
  • 9th at World University Games
  • Ranked #6 in U.S. by Track & Field News; best of 20.22
• 2002
  • 6th at USA Indoors (18.82m)
  • 6th at USA Outdoors (20.47m)
  • Ranked #7 in U.S. by Track & Field News; best of 20.47m
• 2003
  • 3rd at USA Outdoors (20.64m)
  • 1st at Pan American Games (20.95m)
  • 5th at USA Indoors (19.40m)
  • 2nd at Home Depot Invitational (20.90m)
  • 2nd at Stanford (20.65)
  • Ranked #9 in world (#5 U.S.) by Track & Field News

Hoffa at the 2009 FBK Games

2004[link]

• Silver medalist at World Indoors (21.07m)
• 2nd at Olympic Trials (21.14m)
• 22nd in qualifying at Olympic Games (19.40m)
• Runner-up at USA Indoors (20.97m)
• 3rd at Nike Prefontaine Classic (20.38m)
• 1st at Atlanta (20.71m)
• 2nd at Verizon Millrose Games (19.98m)
• 2nd at Drake Relays SP (19.61m)
• 2nd at Home Depot SP (21.67m)
• 1st at Santiago SP (20.99m)
• 1st in Atlanta SP (20.71m)
• Ranked #6 world (#3 U.S.) by Track & Field News; best of 21.67m

2005[link]

• USA Indoors runner-up (21.74m)
• 5th at USA Outdoors (20.90m)
• 1st at Millrose Games (21.61m)
• 1st at Doha (21.29m)
• Ranked #4 in world (#3 U.S.) by Track & Field News; best of 21.29m

2006[link]

• World Indoor Champion (22.11m)
• USA Outdoor runner-up (21.96m)
• USA Indoor champion (21.61m)
• 4th at Nike Prefontaine Classic (20.98m)
• Ranked #1 in world by Track & Field NEWS; best of 22.11m(i)

2007[link]

• World champion (22.04m)
• USA Outdoor champion (21.47m)
• USA Indoor runner-up (21.21m)
• 2nd at Millrose Games (21.75m)
• 3rd at Adidas Track Classic (21.36m)
• 1st at Alabama Relays (21.84m)
• 2nd at Nike Prefontaine Classic (21.65m)
• 2nd at Madrid (20.81m)
• 1st at Ostrava (21.77)
• 1st at Doha (21.37m)
• 1st at London (22.43)

2008[link]

• World Indoor Silver Medalist (21.20m)
• Olympic Trials Champion (22.10m)
• 7th at Olympic Games (20.53m)
• 2nd at Nike Prefontaine Classic (21.73m)
• 1st at Reebok Grand Prix (21.29m)
• 1st at Doha (21.48m)

2009[link]

• 4th at World Outdoors (21.28m)
• 3rd at USA Outdoors (21.10m)
• 1st at Nike Prefontaine Classic (21.89m)
• 1st at Doha (21.64m)
• 1st at Hengelo (21.59m)

2010[link]

• USA Outdoor runner-up (21.33m)
• 4th at USA Indoors (20.42m)
• 2nd at Millrose Games (20.59m)
• 1st in Brussels (22.16m)
• 2nd at Bydgoszcz (20.97m)
• 1st at Kentucky Invite (21.20m)
• 1st at Bulldog Limited (21.14m)
• 3rd at Doha (21.00m)
• 4th at Oslo (20.69m)
• 2nd at Drake Relays (20.56m)
• 4th at Stockholm (20.68m)

2011[link]

• 3rd at USA Outdoors (21.86m)
• 1st at Pre Classic (21.65m)
• 1st at Monaco (21.25m)
• 2nd at Doha (21.27m)
• 3rd at Rome (21.13m)
• 2nd at Drake Relays (20.93m)
• 4th at Stockholm (20.91m)

References[link]

• Profile

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (December 2011)

Medal record
Nelson at the 2011 World Championships
Men's athletics
Competitor for  United States
Olympic Games
Silver	2000 Sydney	Shot put
Silver	2004 Athens	Shot put
World Championships
Gold	2005 Helsinki	Shot put
Silver	2001 Edmonton	Shot put
Silver	2003 Paris	Shot put
Silver	2007 Osaka	Shot put
IAAF World Athletics Final
Silver	2004 Monaco	Shot put
Gold	2005 Monaco	Shot put
Silver	2007 Stuttgart	Shot put

Adam Nelson (born July 7, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an elite American shotputter. A 1997 graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Nelson has competed in three Olympic Games. In 1996, Nelson worked at a concession stand during the 1996 Summer Olympics in his hometown of Atlanta.

High school years[link]

Nelson attended The Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia and was a letterman and a standout in both football and track and field. Adam Nelson graduated from The Lovett School in 1993.

College years and Olympic glory[link]

While he was an undergraduate at Dartmouth, Nelson won various accolades as a member of the track and field team. He still holds the Dartmouth shot put record with a throw of 65 feet 3 inches (19.88 m). In addition, Nelson played on the football team, as a linebacker and later, as a defensive tackle, becoming the first freshman to play football at Dartmouth in 1993. Prior to 1993, the Ivy League prohibited first-year students from playing on the varsity football team. He was a member of Dartmouth's 1996 undefeated Ivy League champion team, and served as President of Chi Heorot fraternity in 1997.

In the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Nelson earned a silver medal after coming in first place in the 2000 Olympic Trials for shotput. Going into the Games, Nelson was the favorite to win, having won every major shotput event in the summer of 2000. His throw of 21.21 m (69 ft 7 in) was just three inches (8 cm) short of the winning throw by gold medalist Arsi Harju.

Nelson's personal best is 22.51 (73 ft 10 in), which he threw in 2002. At that time, this was the third longest throw in U.S. history and the ninth farthest ever in the world.

Nelson also earned a silver medal in the shot put finals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.^[1] The shot put was held in a spectacular setting at the original Stadium of Ancient Olympia, bringing Olympic competition back to the venue for the first time in over a millennium. Nelson jumped out in front of the field with his first throw of 21.16 m (69 feet, 5 inches), and held the lead going into the sixth and final round. As the leader, Nelson was scheduled to be the last thrower in the round and thus, the competition. The holder of the 2nd place throw, Yuriy Bilonog of the Ukraine was scheduled to throw second to last. If Nelson remained in first place after Bilonog's final throw, he would know that he had won his first gold medal and his last throw would become moot. It was not to be; Yury Bilonog stepped up and threw 21.16 m (69 feet, 5 inches) to tie Nelson for first place with his sixth throw. To break a tie, the competitors' second best throws are compared, and unfortunately, Nelson had fouled every throw since his competition-leading first throw. Nelson entered the ring for his final throw and unleashed what looked to be a gold medal winning 70 foot throw, but fouled by stepping on the line to the left front of the circle. Thus, by virtue of the tie-breaker and his superior second-best throw, Yuriy Bilonog won the gold medal and Nelson had to settle for his second consecutive Olympic silver medal. Nelson initially protested vociferously to the officials, but later realized that he did in fact foul and apologized for his emotional reaction.

Nelson's silver medal was the first track and field medal for the United States in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Nelson finally achieved his dreams of a major world title, when he won gold at the 2005 World Athletics Championships with a throw of 21.73 meters. He has qualified to compete in his third straight 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, placing third at the 2008 US Trials. Nelson is also a prominent campaigner against doping in sport.

Nelson regularly reads and posts on The Ring,^[2] an online track and field forum, and as of November 2009 has endorsed Force Factor brand sports supplements.^[3][4]

Achievements[link]

Adam Nelson on the podium of the 2007 World Championships

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Notes
Representing the  United States
1994	World Junior Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	1st	18.34 m
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	2nd	21.24 m
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	2nd	21.16 m

Career progression[link]

Outdoor

• 2010 21.29 Zürich 18/08/2010
• 2009 21.11 Berlin 15/08/2009

2008 22.12 Eugene, OR 08/06/2008

• 2007 21.61 Osaka 25/08/2007
• 2006 22.04 Indianapolis, IN 23/06/2006
• 2005 21.92 Monaco 10/09/2005
• 2004 21.68 Gresham, OR 05/06/2004
• 2003 21.29 Kuortane 20/07/2003
• 2002 22.51 Portland 18/05/2002
• 2001 21.53 Rüdlingen 19/08/2001
• 2000 22.12 Sacramento, CA 15/07/2000
• 1999 20.64 Palma de Mallorca 10/07/1999
• 1998 20.61 Rüdlingen 23/08/1998
• 1997 19.92 01/01/1997
• 1996 19.14 01/01/1996
• 1995 18.27 01/01/1995
• 1994 18.34 Lisboa 23/07/1994

Indoor

• 2010 20.91 Bydgoszcz 10/02/2010
• 2009 20.79 New York (MSG), NY 30/01/2009
• 2008 22.40 Fayetteville, AR 15/02/2008
• 2006 20.99 Boston (Roxbury), MA 28/01/2006
• 2005 21.66 Boston (Roxbury), MA 29/01/2005
• 2004 19.81 New York (Msg), NY 06/02/2004
• 2003 20.63 Boston (Roxbury), MA 02/03/2003
• 2002 21.57 New York (Armory), NY 01/03/2002
• 2001 21.40 Atlanta, GA 03/03/2001
• 1999 20.32 Atlanta, GA 27/02/1999
• 1998 19.86 Indianapolis, IN 13/03/1998

External links[link]

• Official website
• IAAF profile for Adam Nelson
• Article about the 2000 Olympics on Dartmouth College Website
• Article in The Dartmouth on Adam Nelson's Medal
• Adam Nelson's U.S. Olympic Team bio

References[link]

Medal record
Christian Cantwell
Men's athletics
Competitor for the  United States
Olympic Games
Silver	2008 Beijing	Shot put
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
Gold	2009 Berlin	Shot put
World Indoor Championships
Gold	2004 Budapest	Shot put
Gold	2008 Valencia	Shot put
Gold	2010 Doha	Shot put
World Athletics Final
Gold	2003 Monte Carlo	Shot put
Continental Cup
Gold	2010 Split	Shot put

Christian Cantwell (born September 30, 1980 in Jefferson City, Missouri) is a World Champion American shot putter. As of 2008 he is 6' 5" tall and weighs 300 [3] or 335 lbs [4].

Cantwell's personal best throw is 22.54 metres, or 73 ft 11½ in, set in Gresham, Oregon on June 5, 2004. His best outdoor season to date was 2006, in which he had 8 of the 10 longest throws in the year.^[1]

He was born in Jefferson City, Missouri and attended Eldon High School in Eldon. In 2003, he attended the University of Missouri.^[2]

He won a silver medal in 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing, China on August 15, 2008 with his final throw of 21.09 metres behind the gold winner, Tomasz Majewski of Poland.

At the Berlin World Championships in 2009, their positions were reversed as Cantwell took gold with a throw of 22.03 metres.^[3]

Personal[link]

He married USA Olympian Shot putter Teri Steer. They have one child, Jackson Daniel Cantwell born in 2008.^[4]

References[link]

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