Tim Nedow set for discus throw title defence at track and field nationals
Canadian also vows to surpass 20.44m in shot put ahead of Rio Olympics
Tim Nedow will be a two-sport athlete, again, for a few days in July.
The shot put specialist will compete in the event at the Canadian track and field championships, set for July 7-10 at Foote Field in Edmonton, and also try to defend his title in the discus throw after winning each of the past three years.
In an Olympic year, Nedow had initially thought of passing on the event at nationals to avoid potential injury as the Rio Summer Games approach, but changed his mind after speaking with his coach, Vestienn Hafsteinsson, when he learned the discus competition was two days before shot put.
I only pick it up at nationals to try and defend my title.- Shot put specialist Tim Nedow on competing in the discus throw at the Canadian track and field championships in July
"Having a day in between gives me time to recover and be ready for both events," Nedow told CBCSports.ca in an email from Finland, where he competed in shot put at the Paavo Nurmi Games on Wednesday.
Nedow, 25, said he no longer competes in or practises discus, saying, "I only pick it up at nationals to try and defend my title." The native of Brockville, Ont., did so last summer because he was confident of making the Canadian team for the Pan Am Games in Toronto and placed sixth in the men's event, setting a personal best of 61.49 metres.
Following the Paavo Nurmi Games, Nedow will practise the discus throw three times leading up to nationals before, hopefully, retiring from the sport until this time next year.
"I did the exact same thing last year and threw a personal best at nationals [60.09] and Pan Am Games," he said, "So hopefully I can do something similar again this year."
The fact shot put is similar to the discus throw from a technical perspective — Nedow estimates he's done about 2,000 spins of the same motion this season — helps in his preparation.
As for shot put, Nedow has been disappointed in his 2016 outdoor performance.
Two weeks ago, he achieved his Diamond League season best of 20.44 metres at Stockholm Olympic Stadium, well short of the 21-metre mark Nedow achieved indoors in late January and 18 days later pushed to 21.33 in a winning effort at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Tour event. His season-best outdoor throw is 20.88, set April 30 at the Steve Scott Invitational in Irvine, Calif.
On June 9, Nedow finished fourth at the Oslo Diamond League event in Norway (20.40) to match his showing at the Shanghai Diamond League meet in mid-May.
"I did have a minor tweak after Shanghai, which took me out of training for 10 days," said Nedow, who achieved the Rio Olympic standard of 20.50 in April. "I am finally getting back to where I was before and will definitely be beating my 20.44 mark from Stockholm.
"I should be in shape to throw 21-plus metres at nationals in front of a [Canadian] crowd and [with the] excitement [of] knowing I'm going to the Olympic Games."