PARIS, France – For the second time in his career, former North Dakota State NCAA champion thrower Payton Otterdahl has advanced to the shot put finals at the Olympic Games.
The men’s shot put finals will be held tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 3, at 12:35 p.m. CT.
Otterdahl only needed one throw to earn his spot in the final, launching 70-07.25 (21.52m) on his first attempt to become the first automatic qualifier in the field. Ultimately, he posted the third-best mark on the day, despite only taking one of his three allotted attempts.
Otterdahl finished 10th in the shot put in Tokyo in 2021, and on Friday, became the first Bison to compete at a pair of Olympic Games.
He entered the meet as the No. 4 shot put performer in the world this year. Each of the three men ahead of Otterdahl on the world list – Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs of the USA, and Leonardo Fabbri of Italy – also qualified to Saturday’s final.
Otterdahl competed for NDSU from 2015-19, setting the collegiate indoor shot put record and winning NCAA indoor titles in the shot put and weight throw in 2019.