Martin Bingisser

HMMR Podcast Episode 269: The shot put episode

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This week on the podcast we’re going all in on the shot put. The World Indoor Championships took place over the weekend and we break down the results, compare different starting techniques for the rotational shot put, discuss recent trends in the event, how to make competitions more fun for athletes and fans.

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Notes and quotes

  • 0:00 – Introduction
  • 2:45 – General impressions on the World Indoor Championships and pre-meet expectations.
  • 5:30 – Women’s shot put review: “All the talk of the glide being dead: it isn’t. Auriol Dongmo still glides and produced the best mark in the world indoors since 2014. And since 2004 only Valerie Adams (another glider) has gone further indoors.”
  • 8:45 – Men’s shot put review: “We thought World Indoors was Crouser’s to lose. But in the end he didn’t lose it as much as Romani won it. Romani stepped up and won the best indoor competition in history. It’s a win he deserves”
  • 10;15 – Comprehending the new level of the men’s shot put. “The new level of the men’s shot put is just crazy. Silver at 2016 World Indoors wouldn’t have even made the finals in Belgrade.”
  • 13:00 – The stigma of 4th place: “If you place 4th you often get labelled as choking. But that’s not the case when you throw a personal best to get 4th like Romani did before. They know how to step up and had bad luck once, but their time will come and it did come for him.”
  • 15:15 – Why track meets aren’t fun: “Too many track and field meets are boring, even for die-hard fans. They are a money grab with poor organization lasting all day. This is not how you grow the sport. Meets can be fun for athletes AND spectators AND make some money too; it isn’t an either/or.”
  • 25:30 – Finding your throw: “There are so many different ways to throw far. What looks like style often serves purpose. When you watch someone else’s throw look at why they did it that way. Every technique has positions and negatives and a reason why.”
  • 27:30 – Joachim Olsen and the static start: “A static start can help you get back on track because it is simple. When you wind up it can create rhythm issues if the wind up isn’t perfect every time. Going back to the basics can help you reset.”
  • 30:15 – Adam Nelson and the gamble of a dynamic throw.
  • 32:00 – Reese Hoffa and the heel start.
  • 33:00 – Change for change’s sake: “If you are struggling and can’t find a rhythm, change the start.” “Fine tuning technique is hard. Often you need bigger changes to take you out of your comfort zone and find focus. Otherwise you just keep going through the old motions.”

To hear more on these topics, listen to the full episode above. Also be sure to subscribe to our podcast and review it on iTunes.

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