DES MOINES, Iowa – The historic Drake Fieldhouse provided a perfect venue for an electric crowd to take in the first-ever showing of the World Shot Put Series (WSPS). World record holder Ryan Crouser and eight other elite shot putters put on a thrilling show in the brand-new field event format, with Roger Steen eventually emerging victorious.
Crouser developed the WSPS as a fresh new take on one of the oldest disciplines in track and field. The WSPS mimics other field events like high jump and pole vault as each round consists of participants attempting to reach a pre-determined mark. Missed throws result in elimination as those who continually surpass the line advance in competition.
Wednesday's field consists of the following elite throwers:
Josh Awotunde, back-to-back top five finisher at U.S. Olympic Trials
Rajindra Campbell, 2024 Olympic bronze medalist and Jamaican national record holder
Ryan Crouser, world record holder and three-time defending Olympic gold medalist
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, 2024 Olympic sixth-place finisher and Nigerian national record holder
Jordan Geist, Olympic Trials fourth-place finisher in shot put and fifth-place winner in hammer throw
Payton Otterdahl, defending Drake Relays champion and 2024 Olympic fourth-place finisher
Tripp Piperi, 2025 U.S. Indoor champion and Indoor World Championships bronze medalist
Nick Ponzio, 2021 Olympic qualifier and three-time Italian national champion
Roger Steen, 2025 U.S. and World Indoor Championships runner-up
Alongside the lineup of international stars were six collegiate standouts from Iowa colleges and universities. Drake's Cooper Cerese was among the collegiate group in the "Challenger" division. All but one of the collegians advanced through the first round at 40 feet and cleared the second round at 50 feet.
Iowa State Cyclone Cam Jones, the defending Drake Relays University division shot put champion, was the only challenger to eclipse the 60-foot mark, but eventually bowed at 65.
The entire elite field kept things rolling as the distance extended to 68 feet where four of the professionals were eliminated. Crouser stumbled and failed to convert when the line-to-reach moved to 72 feet.
Tripp Piperi, Roger Steen, Rajindra Campbell, and Payton Otterdahl made up the final four contenders with Piperi and Steen outlasting the other two to reach the finals. The two finalists were tasked with reaching a 73-foot line with the first-ever WSPS title up for grabs.
Piperi missed his first finals throw before Steen executed on a violent heave to record an unofficial career best. Piperi, who never missed an opportunity to engage the raucous crowd nestled inside the Fieldhouse, answered with a clutch toss of his own to stay alive.
Both finalists failed to make a successful through at 74 feet, but Roger Steen was crowned the champion of the inaugural World Shot Put Series thanks to a tiebreaker of owning the fewest total missed throws.
The entire field from Wednesday's WSPS, both collegians and professionals included, will be back in action this week as part of the 115th Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom. This year's throwing events, from the collegiate and elite Thursday Night Throws action to Saturday's WACT men's shot put, are sure to be exciting affairs for fans to enjoy.
