SHOT FAVORITE Chase Ealey came in bearing the weight of high expectations and the burden of trying to atone for a poor showing in last year’s Olympic Trials.
None of this was news to her, the issue was how she would deal with it.
In the best competition of her life, she did more than run away with the national championship. She made a statement while establishing herself as one of the gold medal favorites at Worlds.
“I was really nervous heading into this meet,” Ealey said. “I haven’t been nervous all year, then I got really nervous. But I just used the nerves really well and I was able to push past the nerves and go for it. I needed to know I had that confidence, I’m finally back on my feet. Since my breakout year [’19] it’s been a while sine I’ve been on my feet. That confidence, I feel like I have it now.”
She purged the demons of her 5th-place finish at the OT quickly. Her winning 67-3½ (20.51) came on the second throw of a competition where she would end up with the four best marks. Her final throw, 66-3 (20.19) was the No. 6 performance in U.S. history.
A PR, her winning throw was 3½ feet better than anyone else, a meet record, a stadium record, a yearly world leader and the No. 2 throw in U.S. history (behind Michelle Carter’s AR 67-8¼/20.63).
It was also a gauntlet thrown to the rest of the world. “I don’t want to leave there without a medal and I’m hoping to leave there with a gold one,” the 27-year-old Ealey said.
NCAA Champ Adelaide Aquilla was as good as her No. 2 status on the formchart coming in, reaching 63-9 (19.45) on her third attempt to cement a runner-up finish.
The slight surprise was Jessica Woodard, No. 6 on the T&FN form chart, leapfrogging Raven Saunders (4th), Maggie Ewen (5th) and Jessica Ramsey (6th) with a 4th-to-3rd fifth attempt that nabbed her a spot in Eugene. As the reigning Diamond League champ, Ewen also gets a Wild Card position on a 4-thrower team.
WOMEN’S SHOT RESULTS
(June 26)
1. Chase Ealey (Nik) 67-3½ (20.51) PR (WL, AL) (2, 2 A)
(61-4¾, 67-3½, 63-4, 63-10¼, 64-11½, 66-3 [x, 6 A]) (18.71, 20.51, 19.30, 19.46, 19.80, 20.19);
2. Adelaide Aquilla (OhSt) 63-9¾ (19.45)
(59-3½, 63-4¼, 63-9¾, 60-11½, f, 61-3½) (18.07, 19.31, 19.45, 18.58, f, 18.68);
3. Jessica Woodard (unat) 63-7¾ (19.40) PR
(61-7¾, f, f, 61-7¾, 63-7¾, f) (18.79, f, f, 18.79, 19.40, f);
4. Raven Saunders (Nik) 62-2¼ (18.95)
(60-3¾, f, 62-2¼, f, f, 61-5) (18.38, f, 18.95, f, f, 18.72);
5. Maggie Ewen (Nik) 61-7¾ (18.79)
(61-4¼, 61-7¾, 60-7¼, 55-3, 58-8, f) (18.70, 18.79, 18.47, 16.84, 17.88, f);
6. Jessica Ramsey (adi) 61-7½ (18.78)
(59-7½, f, f, 61-3½, f, 61-7½) (18.17, f, f, 18.68, f, 18.78);
7. Latavia Maines (Tn) 60-5¾ (18.43)
(58-10¼, 60-5¾, 54-8, 55-9, 57-7¾, 58-1¼) (17.94, 18.43, 16.66, 16.99, 17.57, 17.71);
8. Michelle Carter (NikNYAC) 58-1¾ (17.72)
(55-1, 56-10, 58-1¾, 56-2, 54-1, 53-8¼) (16.79, 17.32, 17.72, 17.12, 16.48, 16.36);
9. Monique Riddick (Vel/GarS) 57-9 (17.60); 10. Payden Montana (Ok) 57-4¼ (17.48); 11. Jaida Ross (Or) 56-9½ (17.31); 12. Rachel Fatherly (GarS) 55-7½ (16.95); 13. Khayla Dawson (unat) 55-7 (16.94); 14. Jayden Ulrich (In) 55-4¼ (16.87); 15. Haley Teel (T1D) 54-10¼ (16.72); 16. Madison Pollard (In) 54-9¼ (16.69); 17. Kayli Johnson (TxT) 53-10½ (16.42). ◻︎