NEVER BEFORE in a USATF women’s shot comp have more than 3 putters surpassed 19m. A record 5 did so here but as is most often the case, Chase Jackson was in a league of her own.
The AR holder and 2-time world champ made sure that two more of her own trends continued: That she always throws well at Hayward and that she wins on her first throw.
So it wasn’t a big surprise when Jackson’s initial 68-4½ (20.84) smashed her own ’22 Meet Record by more than a foot and distanced her from the field. In what Jackson called the best series of her life, all four of her legal throws — 68-4½, 67-5½, 66-3¾ and 67-3¼ (20.84, 20.56, 20.21, 20.50) — would have won.
That’s not to say there weren’t additional fireworks as 3 of the next 4 achieved season’s bests in this slammin’ contest. Maggie Ewen had a solid start herself, hitting 63-7¾ (19.40), then improving to 65-5 (19.94) on her second throw — her best since May ’23. That would hold up for 2nd.
Oregon alum Jaida Ross had hit a massive PR 66-½ (20.13) at Pre and here moved into 3rd with her second throw, 63-5 (19.33). Then in the third frame, Jessica Woodard moved up to challenge with a 62-8 (19.10) that carried her into the club of Worlds Q-standard owners, now 7 total.
But four throwers later, 34-year-old Jessica Ramsey exploded with a 64-2¼ (19.56) to shoot past both Woodard and Ross into 3rd. It was her second-best throw ever — trailing only to her PR 66-¼ (20.12) that won the ’21 Olympic Trials. The blast earned her a big hug from Jackson.
And that was that. None of the top 5 could improve in the finals, and only Jackson and Ewen, the latter on her last throw of 62-10½ (19.16), could get back over 19m.
Ramsey, a new mother, made her first WC team. Ewen, the ’18 and ’23 national champion, made her third squad. And in 4th, Ross — despite being well off her PR form — will join them in Tokyo since Jackson came into Eugene with a defending world champ’s Wild Card.
Afterwards, Jackson revealed she was a “little worried” because when she also had a Wild Card 2 years ago here and finished just 4th. Of course, she rallied in Budapest to win her second World title.
“So I thought to focus on a distance instead of just winning,” she said. “So, I went out today trying to throw really far and had, I think, probably the best series of my life. I just wanted to go out and not let the bye kind of hamper my ability to win.”
That said, Jackson was also dealing with an injury — which she thinks is a strained tendon of the middle finger of her throwing hand. “To still throw 20.84 with a bad finger is pretty good for me,” she said, “because I wasn’t really able to finish; it just shows me that I have a really big throw in there once I get all good.”
WOMEN’S SHOT RESULTS
(August 03)
1. Chase Jackson (Nik) 68-4½ (20.84)
(68-4½, 67-5½, f, f, 66-3¾, 67-3¼) (20.84, 20.56, f, f, 20.21, 20.50);
2. Maggie Ewen (Nik) 65-5 (19.94)
(63-7¾, 65-5, f, 61-7, f, 62-10½) (19.40, 19.94, f, 18.77, f, 19.16);
3. Jessica Ramsey (adi) 64-2¼ (19.56)
(59-7¾, f, 64-2¼, f, 59-8½, f) (18.18, f, 19.56, f, 18.20, f);
4. Jaida Ross (OTC) 63-5 (19.33)
(61-3½, 63-5, 60-11½, 62-1, 59-11¾, 60-6) (18.68, 19.33, 18.58, 18.92, 18.28, 18.44);
5. Jessica Woodard (IronW) 62-8 (19.10)
(f, 59-11¾, 62-8, 61-¼, 60-10, 59-1¼) (f, 18.28, 19.10, 18.60, 18.54, 18.01);
6. Akaoma Odeluga (OleMiss) 61-6¾ (18.76)
(f, f, 61-6¾, f, 56-11½, f) (f, f, 18.76, f, 17.36, f);
7. Abby Moore (unat) 61-3 (18.67); 8. Mya Lesnar (unat) 60-8¾ (18.51); 9. Abria Smith (Il) 58-10¾ (17.95); 10. Kalynn Meyer (unat) 57-7 (17.55); 11. Elizabeth Tapper (Mi) 56-6¾ (17.24); 12. Mye’Joi Williams (Al) 54-2¾ (16.53).
