| Watch over 50 IAAF Events Live and On-Demand at WCSN.com |
World indoor shot put champion Christian Cantwell’s 2008 outdoor debut will among the primary highlights at Saturday’s invitational division of the Kansas Relays in Lawrence.
Indeed, organizers of this weekend’s 81st edition of the event couldn’t have asked for a better plug than the one Cantwell provided soon after his victory at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia last month, when he told reporters that he was already looking forward to his return engagement.
In Valencia, the 27-year-old regained the global indoor shot put title he first won in 2004 to become only the second man to win the crown twice. His 21.77m/71-5 ¼ effort bettered the 21.20m/69-6 ¾ by Reese Hoffa, who took the indoor crown in Moscow two years earlier. Cantwell was the picture of consistency at the championships, with each of his five throws --he fouled just once-- sailing well beyond 21m (68-10 ¾).
“This validates all the hard work I’ve been doing,” Cantwell said, following up his now famous remark from the arena’s center stage when he told his critics to, “kiss my ass.”
Cantwell returns to Lawrence as the Relays’ record holder in the event, after reaching 21.43m/70-3 ¾ in 2006. His first test of the season will be a solid one. He’ll face Jamaican Dorian Scott, the current world outdoor leader at 21.45m/70-4 ¼, and American Dan Taylor, a 21m-man looking to bounce back from a sub-par indoor season in which he finished a distant eighth at the U.S. championships.
Another season’s debut of note will be that of Bershawn Jackson, the 2005 world 400m hurdles champion, who will make his first appearance of the season in his specialty. The 24-year-old has won here three years running and displayed good early season speed with a 45.55 victory in the flat 400m at the Florida Relays two weeks ago. Jackson too is looking to bounce back from 2007 disappointment, when he failed to advance from the semi-finals at the World Championships in Osaka.
Saturday’s relay action will host some major names, most notably Wallace Spearmon, the U.S. indoor 200m record holder and 2005 200m world silver medallist and 2007 world 200m bronze medallist. Spearmon is on the slate to run both the 4x100m and 4x200m relays.
The women’s relay events will feature Muna Lee, Cydonie Mothersill and LaShauntea Moore.
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
