Throws Preview, Thursday: 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships
By Kara Winger
Hey, I’m Kara. Still number one in World Athletics Rankings in the women’s javelin after a 2022 season that saw me become the first ever American javelin thrower to medal at Worlds (in Eugene!!) for the women (I moved from 5th to 2nd in the final round, it was amazing), break the American Record for the second time in my career after not throwing a personal best for twelve full years when I tossed 68.11m in Brussels September 2nd, and then win the Zurich Diamond League Final. I stuck to my guns and retired like I said I was going to, and I have no regrets. And now i get to play fun new roles in the throws universe that I love, and come to 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships and The Prefontaine Classic to celebrate my friends, former teammates and competitors, with fellow fans who also love these events.
Here are my takes on the competition in the throwing events of day one of the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships!
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Men’s Discus
Andrew Evans won the men’s discus throw with a throw of 63.31m (207-8) at the 2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs
This event is so wildly competitive in the world right now, and there’s a least one guy on this start list who has the potential to disrupt that in Budapest.
Sam Mattis is in an American class of his own this season, ending the summer of 2022 by securing the 67m Budapest standard at his final competition in Zagreb, and then grabbing another one for good measure in his 2023 season opener of 67.49m in April. That mark leads the field at this competition by over a meter, and with a bunch of other results over 64m this year, and an inkling that he and coach Dane Miller are playing the long game after that fantastic start to the year, Sam is my pick to win. Would love to see him get a second career national title after first achieving the feat in 2019. I bet the Mattis camp also has the Diamond League Final at The Prefontaine Classic in mind: Sam had a front row seat to competitors’ 70m throws out of this ring in the Eugene World final, and sits third in the Diamond League standings. He’d do well to figure out big tosses in this meet in preparation!
Two men in the field sit 1cm apart and within 1m of the World standard: Turner Washington just won his final NCAAs with a clutch performance (and incredible celebratory performance) in the sixth round at 66.22m, and Josh Syrotchen - Sam’s Garage Strength teammate - after a big PB to start his season of 66.21m in April. A fresh college graduate with a family line of throwers and a storied prep career, plus lots of ups and downs throughout his collegiate days, and a married Dad of two who has been steadily chipping away at a throwing dream since his NCAA DII days could both nab spots on this team. I LOVE that about track and field.
Andrew Evans and Brian Williams, Sam’s Eugene 2022 World Championships teammates, have both had consistent seasons in the 61-63m range, and both have the experience to show up well here. Both men threw PBs in 2022, and will have trained with this competition and qualifying for this team in mind, looking for redemption after missing the Eugene final.
New talent in Joseph Brown, Jordan Roach, and Darian Brown would need to compete well to make big leaps in World Rankings and contend for Budapest spots, but could very well do so! Again, you have to show up to see what you’re made of. Magic happens at Hayward.
Interesting news out of BYU: Dallin Shurts, who performed well here last year to make the NACAC Championships team, will be joined by coach Niklas Arrhenius in the field. Nik represented his native Sweden until he became officially eligible to compete for the USA on August 26, 2022! The long-time BYU throws coach will make his U.S. Championships debut at 40 years old.
Wide range of storylines here, and i always love seeing a clear opportunity for someone’s career to really take off. Success now would set someone new up well for a run at Paris in 2024: Experience on the world stage this year lights competitive fire even brighter going into an Olympic Games.
Women’s Javelin
Hello my love. 2022 was a dream. I miss you. But mostly, thank you.
I made the choice to rescind my Wild Card spot to Budapest after winning the 2022 Diamond League Final, and I regret nothing. My wildest dreams finally came true, in a season that I had already decided would be my last. I fully believe that the freedom of knowing that each throw got closer and closer to my true final attempt elevated my performances, and I’m unsure how I would ever recreate that. It would have been very cool to play a part in bringing four women to a World Championships, but as it stands, it will be a bit of a tall order to get three on this team.
Ariana Ince is the only athlete in the U.S. javelin who owns the Budapest standard. It’s 63.80m for the women, so her PB of 64.38m in Zagreb in September puts her squarely at the top of American javelin Budapest prospective team members. While she has struggled this season, the fickle javelin can turn around very quickly, and I fully believe that it will for her. Budapest would be the Tokyo Olympian’s fourth World Championship appearance, and a national title here would be the second in her career after 2019.
Two-time Olympian (Tokyo finalist), former American Record holder, and Eugene Worlds team member Maggie Malone has thrice won on this runway in pretty spectacular fashion: NCAAs and Olympic Trials in 2016, and Olympic Trials in 2021, where she set a meet record at 63.50m. Her results since her American Record-setting season in 2021 have been mixed, but she was the world leader going into World Championships in 2022, and she’s the U.S. leader this season at 62.28m.
The rest of the field is made up of collegiate talent and veteran Bekah Wales, whose consistent presence in the U.S. scene has always made me so happy: Her resilience through many injuries speaks directly to my heart. Maddie Harris and Madison Wiltrout have experience on this stage and could make big leaps in the World Rankings if they have big days.
A building year, after 2022 saw three women in the top 10 distance list in the world, isn’t that strange? But my hopes are high for the next generation of women’s javelin throwers, and for Ari and Maggie to iron out some kinks and put on a show.