Americans, favored to sweep podium in shot put, get silver
BEIJING -- Tomasz Majewski of Poland won the men's shot put with a career best 70 feet, 6½ inches, upsetting a strong field to claim the first track and field gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Majewski led the eight men advancing to the last three rounds Friday and produced his best mark with the next throw -- 21 1/3 inches better than his pre-competition personal best.
Majewski, 26, is the first Pole to win gold in the event since Wladyslaw Komar in 1972. His previous best result was bronze at the world indoor championships this year.
"I was preparing for that and made it. I am so glad I got the gold medal. If you are thinking about a gold medal you have to do your personal best like that," said the big-bearded Pole, who competed wearing a bandana.
Merrill: Shot down
They're known as the 'Big Three' -- U.S. shot putters Christian Cantwell, Adam Nelson and Reese Hoffa -- but Friday they played small, as Cantwell settled for silver. Story
"I started to use it five years ago for luck -- and it worked so I think I'll use it all the time now," he added.
Christian Cantwell, the two-time world indoor champion, moved into second place at 69 feet, 2½ inches -- the only American to get a medal in what his team had hoped would be a 1-2-3 U.S. finish.
"Any time you sneak in on your last throw and squeak out a medal, its special. I didn't win but I moved from sixth to second and that is something. I got lucky by an inch -- I'll take that," Cantwell said.
Andrei Mikhnevich of Belarus collected bronze at 69 feet, ¾inches.
Reese Hoffa, the reigning world champion, finished seventh at 67 feet, 4 ¼ inches and his U.S. teammate Adam Nelson, the two-time Olympic silver medalist, did not register a mark in the final after three fouls.
"There are a lot of reasons why it happened but no good ones, I am sure. I just didn't go out there and throw. I had some big throws and big fouls. Unfortunately they didn't count," Nelson said.
"There is no not much good to take out of this. I was just throwing down the left sector line and I don't really do that often. It's inexcusable," he said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
