"And the gold medal inShot Put goes to...."

Gold medal in Shot Put at the Outgames (Montreal, August/2006)

I was happy with my shot put during the decathlon, but by the time the open shot put rolled around three days later, my legs were a bit shot -- so to speak : )

I didn't throw as far as in the decathlon shot, so I was a bit disappointed with that. I also didn't throw farthest of all the competitors -- a guy in a younger age category threw 15cm farther. I also didn't get to focus clearly on the event, as the open high jump was being held simultaneously and I had to run about a mile back and forth between the two events. And I just didn't feel ready to punch a long one out there, despite my trying to convince myself I was. Still, I came away with a gold medal in my age group, and a place at the top of the podium.

The 10 15 extra pounds I'm carrying in my midsection came in very handy. Even if my high jump performance suffered. Terribly.