Former University of Missouri thrower Christian Cantwell vaulted himself from fifthto second place, securing himself a silver medal, on the last of six throws in the shot put during the Olympic finals today.
Cantwell was sitting deep in the rankings with an attempt that went 20.98 meters before stepping up for his sixth and final throw. He needed to beat a 21.04 just to medal. He threw that and more, ripping off a 21.09, good enough to land him in second place.
Poland’s Tomasz Majewski threw a personal best 21.51 for gold, while Belarus’ Andrei Mikhnevich finished behind Cantwell with a bronze.
Fellow American Reese Hoffa, who attended the University of Georgia, came in seventh place with a throw of 20.53 meters.