Hoffa's 21.49m sets the stage for Shot Put Showdown 07. March 08

Defending Shot Put champion Reese Hoffa means business. As he did in Moscow two years ago, the 30-year-old American led all qualifiers in the opening round, and he did so here with class, reaching a season’s best 21.49m.

His lone toss of the morning, adding 9cm to his 2008 best, before an enthusiastic morning crowd would have sufficed to secure the gold in all but three of the previous 11 editions of the World Indoor Championships. If Hoffa, the world champion outdoors as well, succeeds in his title defence tonight, he’d become only the second to ever do so, equalling the feat of East German Ulf Timmerman 19 years ago.

Behind him, no major casualties were recorded. His teammate Christian Cantwell, the 2004 World indoor champion, reached 20.91 with his second throw, ahead of Australian Scott Martin, whose 20.83 effort was an Area indoor record. Dorian Scott, fourth to qualify with a 20.62 toss, set a Jamaican national record.

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Results

		Final
Position	Bib	Athlete	Country	1	2	3	4	5	6	Mark	.
1	341	Christian Cantwell	USA	21.14	21.19	21.59	X	21.77	21.69	21.77	.
2	346	Reese Hoffa	USA	20.31	21.20	20.74	X	X	X	21.20	.
3	251	Tomasz Majewski	POL	X	20.78	20.93	X	X	X	20.93	(NR)
4	31	Andrei Mikhnevich	BLR	20.58	20.66	X	20.39	20.60	20.82	20.82	(SB)
5	239	Rutger Smith	NED	20.75	20.78	X	X	X	X	20.78	.
6	192	Dorian Scott	JAM	20.03	20.12	20.05	X	20.29	X	20.29	.
7	13	Scott Martin	AUS	18.96	20.13	X	X	X	19.54	20.13	.
8	154	Peter Sack	GER	19.95	19.94	19.67	19.96	20.05	X	20.05	.
		Qualification
Position	Bib	Athlete	Country	1	2	3	Mark	.
1	346	Reese Hoffa	USA	21.49			21.49 Q	(SB)
2	341	Christian Cantwell	USA	19.25	20.91		20.91 Q	.
3	13	Scott Martin	AUS	20.12	19.85	20.83	20.83 Q	(AR)
4	192	Dorian Scott	JAM	19.56	20.62		20.62 Q	(NR)
5	31	Andrei Mikhnevich	BLR	20.58			20.58 Q	.
6	239	Rutger Smith	NED	19.96	19.60	20.30	20.30 Q	.
7	154	Peter Sack	GER	20.27			20.27 Q	.
8	251	Tomasz Majewski	POL	19.89	20.23		20.23 Q	.
9	28	Hamza Alic	BIH	19.36	20.00	19.96	20.00	.
10	294	Pavel Sofin	RUS	19.71	19.95	19.95	19.95	.
11	304	Miran Vodovnik	SLO	19.26	18.94	19.94	19.94	.
12	139	Carl Myerscough	GBR	X	X	19.86	19.86	(SB)
13	310	Milan Habor?k	SVK	19.80	X	X	19.80	.
14	93	Manuel Mart?nez	ESP	19.56	19.64	19.75	19.75	(SB)
15	49	Dylan Armstrong	CAN	19.56	X	19.03	19.56	.
16	111	Robert Häggblom	FIN	19.41	X	19.42	19.42	.
17	328	Yuriy Bilonoh	UKR	19.02	X	-	19.02	.
18	78	Kim Christensen	DEN	17.95	17.87	18.26	18.26	.
19	226	Ivan Emilianov	MDA	18.16	18.07	X	18.16	.
20	261	Marco Fortes	POR	X	17.96	X	17.96	.
21	324	Ming Huang Chang	TPE	17.73	X	X	17.73	.

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