Cantwell wishes for torrid night
BEIJING – Christian Cantwell has been waiting four years for this – well, longer than that, really. Since his days at Missouri, he’s known he was good enough to win the Olympic shot put gold medal.
He was good enough in 2004 but missed the Athens Games. But now, the big competition is finally upon him.
He breezed through the qualifying round Friday morning (Thursday night in the United States) with the final set to begin Friday night (6 a.m. local time) at National Stadium. Denmark’s Joachim Olsen, out of the University of Idaho, did not advance to the final.
The timing will be perfect for Cantwell – it’s just when he most likes to compete.
“Late evening, 93-95 degrees, probably,” he said. “That’s enough to get you loosened up, you know. For me, the heat’s good. It keeps the body limber.”
The Bird’s Nest, last the center of focus for the opening ceremonies, now readies for the start of the track and field competition. Here in Beijing, you could call it the “Triangle of Gold” as the Bird’s Nest (track), Water Cube (swimming/diving) and National Indoor Stadium (gymnastics) all sit across the street from each other.
Qualifying in the men’s 100 meters also began today, and Muna Lee will start her quest in the women’s 100 on Saturday. The men’s 100 final will be that day, with the women on Sunday.
Lee’s coach, Vince Anderson, agrees that as long as Lee is healthy, she should be able to advance in the 100. But once the final arrives, the field will be intense.
“It will be as competitive as in the U.S. trials,” referring to the fact that top sprinters like Allyson Felix and Marshevet Hooker just missed making the U.S. 100 team but could have been contenders here if they had. “Muna is not going to see anything harder than she already has.”
Lee is also expected to run in the 400 relay, making this a particularly busy Olympic meet for her. Lee said she feels like now she’s kind of “re-learning” the 200 in working with Anderson in Texas. But it’s not like he has overhauled that race for her.
“I think that you try to be as normal as possible, and you don’t try to overdo it with technical adjustments,” Anderson said. “We keep talking about the same technical adjustments as all year.
“Otherwise, it would be like going into the Super Bowl and installing a new offense. What we’ve done to get ready is more about rehearsing the plan, resting, and just regenerating psychologically and physically after the trials.”
NBC’s prime time lineup
Swimming: gold medal finals: men’s 100-meter butterfly, men’s 50-meter freestyle, women’s 200-meter backstroke, women’s 800-meter freestyle and women’s 50-meter freestyle semifinal; Track and field: men’s 100 meters, men’s shot put gold medal final; Beach volleyball; Men’s volleyball: USA vs. China