Kovacs elevates to No. 3 in history with 76-2.75 (23.23m) effort, earning his first title since 2015, with Ealey following fellow American Ewen as champion with 66-3 (20.19m) performance; Tamberi repeats in high jump, Kennedy wins pole vault and Kenyans Chebet and Kipkorir prevail in 5,000 finals
By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor
Joe Kovacs finally got the big one he had been searching for all season, and wound up producing one of the greatest shot put performances in history Wednesday at the Diamond League final in front of the Zurich opera house at the city event on Sechseläutenplatz in Switzerland.
Kovacs unleashed the No. 3 all-time mark with his second-round effort of 76 feet, 2.75 inches (23.23m), capturing his first Diamond League title since 2015. Reese Hoffa is the only other American shot putter to win two Diamond League championships in 2012 and 2014.
“I am super excited. I had so many throws this year over 22.80m. So I feel like I was building and building. It feels good to finally click the box and be a 23-meter shot putter,” Kovacs said. “There is a bigger throw left in there. So it feels good to walk away from a PR and I want more, but it is also exciting because I know the level is getting better and better.”
Ryan Crouser, last year’s winner, placed second with his third-round performance of 74-7.25 (22.74m).
Tom Walsh of New Zealand, the only three-time Diamond League men’s shot put champion, took third Wednesday in 71-10.25 (21.90m).
Kovacs also surpassed Crouser’s Diamond League record of 75-11.50 (23.15m) from last year’s Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Only Crouser’s effort of 76-8.25 (23.37m) from last year’s USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field, along with his Olympic gold medal performance of 76-5.50 (23.30m) last season in Tokyo are better than Kovacs’ mark Wednesday.
Chase Ealey also made it two in a row for American women in the shot put with her third-round mark of 66-3 (20.19m), prevailing against Canada’s Sarah Mitton and her opening-round performance of 64-2.25 (19.56m).
“Yeah the energy was amazing. I like having the crowd right there, it’s really cool and I like you know bringing on the claps and hearing them giving us the energy, it’s really nice and I almost really forget that my foot is really hurting,” Ealey said. “You know I think I’m still in the right place mentally and physically, so I think a little rest, (fall) season training and I’m gonna do even…
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