Ron Backes (born 19 February 1963 in St. Cloud, Minnesota) is an American retired shot putter.
His personal best throw was 21.02 metres, achieved in May 1988 in San Jose. [1]
Competing for the Minnesota Golden Gophers track and field team, Backes won the 1986 shot put at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships with a throw of 21.01 meters. [2]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the  United States | ||||
| 1987 | World Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, United States | 6th | |
| 1991 | World Indoor Championships | Seville, Spain | 3rd | |
| World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 8th | ||
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 10th | |
The discus throw, also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight — called a discus — in an attempt to mark a farther distance than other competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-BC Myron statue Discobolus. Although not part of the current pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least 708 BC, and it is part of the modern decathlon.
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the shot—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival (1896), and women's competition began in 1948.
The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin.
Adam McCright Nelson is an American shot putter and Olympic gold medalist. Nelson competed in three consecutive Olympic Games in 2000, 2004 and 2008. In addition to his gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, Nelson won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics.
Rutger Smith is a retired Dutch track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw. He is the first athlete to win medals at the World Championships in both events. He represented the Netherlands at the Summer Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012. His personal best of 21.62 m for the shot put is the Dutch national record.
Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, four-time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic, three-time Commonwealth Games champion and twice IAAF Continental Cup winner. She has a personal best throw of 21.24 metres (69.7 ft) outdoors and 20.98 metres (68.8 ft) indoors. These marks are Oceanian, Commonwealth and New Zealand national records. She also holds the Oceanian junior record (18.93 m) and the Oceanian youth record (17.54 m), as well as the World Championships record, World Indoor Championships record and Commonwealth Games record.
Ryan Keith Whiting is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and has a personal record of 22.28 meters outdoors and 22.35 meters indoors. His biggest international senior success to date is first place at the 2012 World Indoor Championships. He represented the United States at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, 2013 World Championships in Athletics, 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2012 London Olympics.
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Timothy "Tim" Nedow is a Canadian track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. He has personal bests of 21.33 m in the shot put and 61.49 m in the discus throw. He was the bronze medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2013 Francophonie Games and a five-time champion of the Canadian Track and Field Championships. He has also competed at the World Championships in Athletics, in 2013, and twice at the Summer Universiade. He studied and competed athletically at the University of Tulsa and DePaul University.
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David Lorne Steen is a Canadian former track and field athlete who specialised in the shot put. He was a two-time gold medallist in the event at the Commonwealth Games in 1966 and 1970, breaking games records both times. He had won the bronze medal at the 1962 event. His personal record was 19.21 m, set in 1970.
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Ryan Crouser is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus. He specializes in the shot put, in which he is the only three-time Olympic gold medalist, having won in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Paris, and also a two-time World Champion. He holds the world record in the shot put, both indoors and outdoors. He set the outdoor world record at 23.56 meters in May 2023, improving upon his previous record of 23.37 m from July 2021. He has held the indoor record of 22.82 m since January 2021.
Cortez Thaddeus Ham Jr. is an American professional football fullback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Augustana (SD) and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Vikings after the 2016 NFL draft. Even though his first year in the NFL was 2016, he has a rookie card in the 2020 Panini Select set.
Marika Tuliniemi is a retired Finnish shot putter.
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Chukwuebuka Cornnell Enekwechi is a track and field athlete, specializing in throwing events. Born in the United States, he competes internationally for Nigeria. He is the 2018 Commonwealth Games Silver medalist and reigning African Champion in the shot put. He is also the 2019 African Games Champion and the reigning Nigerian National Sports Festival Champion.
Payton Otterdahl is an American male shot putter who competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Adelaide Aquilla is an American athlete who specialises in the shot put.
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