DES MOINES, Iowa – The 2025 Drake Relays is not only set up to entertain on the Blue Oval but also in the field events. The 115th installment of America's Athletic Classic will feature another explosive lineup of shot put, javelin, and hammer throwers, as well as a brand-new format for fans to flock to.
 
"This year's slate of throwing events will provide a unique viewing experience throughout all of Relays week," Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays Blake Boldon said. "This diverse lineup of talented performers and unique formats, from a totally original indoor competition to another year of world class long throws. These events require a special combination of power, precision, and speed that will be on display later this month."
 
This year's throwing events will kick off in a never-before-seen contest inside the historic Drake Fieldhouse. Led by 3-time Olympic champion and current world record holder Ryan Crouser, Des Moines will serve as the setting for the debut of the World Shot Put Series. Crouser, who owns five Drake Relays titles and will be enshrined in the Drake Relays Athletes Hall of Fame later this month, concocted the WSPS and its fresh scoring style and rulebook as an innovative twist on the sport of shot put. Further details on the World Shot Put Series can be found here.
 
The WSPS will also feature several other international contenders including last year's Drake Relays shot put champion, Payton Otterdahl. A 2-time Olympian, Otterdahl recorded an indoor personal record of 22.59m last year and was a finalist at the 2024 Games in Tokyo.
 
Other Relays veterans like 2025 World Indoor Championships runner-up Roger Steen, 3-time Italian national champion Nick Ponzio, 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Rajindra Campbell of Jamaica, 2021 Olympic finalist and 2024 sixth place winner in Paris Chukwueba Enekwechi, and 2025 US Indoor champion Tripp Piperi will also be competing in both the WSPS and Drake Relays shot put event.
 
Josh Awotunde, a US Indoor Championship top three finisher, and Jordan Geist, a 2-time Pan American Games medalist, round out the list of indoor and outdoor competitors. No stranger to the Relays, Josh Cinnamo will complete the field for the Relays' outdoor shot. Cinnamo was a 2-sport letter winner in track and field and football at Division III Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Since then, he placed third in the 2021 Paralympics in Tokyo and took fourth at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
 
The WACT men's javelin contest will be fiercely challenged with one of the deepest event fields in Relays history. Curtis Thompson, currently ranked No. 14 in the world, highlights the roster of throwers. Thompson is a 2-time Olympian and 4-time U.S. champion. Other internationally ranked javelin participants include 2-time Icelandic national champion Sindri Gudmundsson, the 30th ranked athlete in the world, 2021 Olympic Trials fourth place finisher Marc Minichello, and 2024 Olympic Trials sixth place finisher Jordan Davis.
 
The javelin field also includes a handful of top collegiate talent including last year's Drake Relays champion Arthur Petersen, 2-time Bahamas national champion Keyshawn Strachan, 2024 Olympic Trials fourth place finisher Dash Sirmon, Nigerian Olympian and national champion Chinecherem Nnamdi, and 2023 Pan American Games U20 gold medalist Mike Stein. Petersen, Strachan, and Sirmon all compete for the University of Nebraska while Nnamdi dons the green and gold of Baylor University and Stein represents the University of Iowa.
 
The women's javelin lineup consists of an equally talented crop of throwers. Rhema Otabor, a 2024 Paris Olympian from the Bahamas, leads the field with a present rank of No. 20 on the planet. She is joined by Madison Wiltrout, third place finisher at the 2024 Olympic Trials, Ariana Ince, the winner of the 2019 U.S. national championship contested in Drake Stadium, and Sophia Rivera Hassemer, a 2-time Puerto Rican champion who finished eighth at last year's Relays.
 
Women's collegiate javelin contestants include the 56th ranked athlete in the world and 2023 U.S. champion Maddie Harris of Nebraska, 2-time Olympic Trial contender Sarah Blake from Mississippi State, another Cornhusker and Canadian standout Eniko Sara, 3-time All-SEC performer Erin Zimmerman of Missouri, and the Great Britain U20 champion Lizzy Korczak from Iowa.
 
Jordan Geist will appear in his third competition of the 2025 Relays as a member of the men's hammer throw field. Geist currently ranks 37th in the world hammer throw standings. Geist will be joined by two more Drake Relays returners in 3-time Olympian Rudy Winkler and last year's third place finisher Brock Eager. Current world No. 34 Justin Stafford, Canadian Olympian Rowan Hamilton, and 2024 Olympic Trials seventh place thrower Israel Oloyede are also part of the hammer throw roster.
 
Like the other throwing events, the men's hammer will showcase top collegiate talent alongside the professional entrants. 2024 Drake Relays champion Angelos Mantzouranis and his fellow Minnesota Golden Gopher Kostas Zaltos, who was last year's runner-up, will be back in the circle in 2025. NCAA Division II hammer champion Tanner Berg closes out the men's field.
 
2024 Drake Relays champion Rachel Richeson returns to DSM to defend her women's hammer throw title. She will be challenged by 2024 Olympic silver medalist Annette Echikunwoke, Paris Olympian Erin Reese, 2-time Olympian Stamatia Scarvelis, plus recent Olympic Trials participants Jill Shippee, Janeah Stewart, and Mari Shavers. The women's hammer lineup is rounded out by 2022 World Champion Brooke Anderson, the No. 2 all-time performer in American history, and Great Britain's 2024 national champion Anna Purchase.
 
The Thursday Night Throws portion of the 2025 Drake Relays will again spotlight two of the world's premier para throwers. Ankeny native Justin Phongsavanh, a 2-time U.S. Paralympian, and Beth Grauer, a retired combat veteran and 2023 Pan American Games silver medalist, are set to showcase their skills in the seated javelin and seated shot put, respectively. Both Phongsavanh and Grauer will be attempting to repeat as Drake Relays champions after winning 12 months ago.
 
World Shot Put Series Lineup
Josh Awotunde
Rajindra Campbell
Ryan Crouser
Chukwueba Enekwechi
Jordan Geist
Payton Otterdahl
Tripp Piperi
Nick Ponzio
Roger Steen
 
Drake Relays Men's Shot Put Field
Josh Awotunde
Rajindra Campbell
Josh Cinnamo
Ryan Crouser
Chukwueba Enekwechi
Jordan Geist
Payton Otterdahl
Tripp Piperi
Nick Ponzio
Roger Steen
 
Drake Relays Women's Javelin Field
Sarah Blake
Maddie Harris
Sophia Rivera Hassemer
Ariana Ince
Lizzy Korczak
Rhema Otabor
Eniko Sara
Madison Wiltrout
Erin Zimmerman
 
Drake Relays Men's Javelin Field
Jordan Davis
Sindri Gudmundsson
Marc Minichello
Chinecherem Nnamdi
Arthur Petersen
Dash Sirmon
Mike Stein
Keyshawn Strachan
Curtis Thompson
 
Drake Relays Women's Hammer Throw Field
Brooke Anderson
Annette Echikunwoke
Anna Purchase
Erin Reese
Rachel Richeson
Stamatia Scarvelis
Mari Shavers
Jill Shippee
Janeah Stewart
 
Drake Relays Men's Hammer Throw Field
Tanner Berg
Brock Eager
Jordan Geist
Rowan Hamilton
Angelos Mantzouranis
Israel Oloyede
Justin Stafford
Rudy Winkler
Kostas Zaltos
 
Drake Relays Seated Throws Field
Beth Grauer
Justin Phongsavanh
 
 
2025 Drake Relays tickets are available here.