American Record: Ramona Pagel, 66-2.5
2007 U.S. Champion: Kristin Heaston, 61-5.75
2004 Olympic Trials Champion: Laura Gerraughty, 60-8.5
Top 5 Seed Marks
1.) Jillian Camarena, 61-8.5
2.) Jessica Pressley, 61-7.75
3.) Kristin Heaston, 61-5.75
4.) Michelle Carter, 61-4.5
5.) Elizabeth Wanless, 61-0.25
The women’s shot put field is completely up in the air. With the top five women all within nine inches of each other, anything can happen. All that is for sure is that great drama should ensue.
Kristin Heaston, the defending U.S. champion, is the third seed with her throw from last year’s U.S. championships, but is less than three inches behind top-seed Jillian Camarena, the 2006 U.S. champion.
Jessica Pressley of Arizona State, the two-time NCAA champion, is the second seed, less than an inch off Camarena.
Michelle Carter and Elizabeth Wanless are four and 8.25 inches away from Camarena’s mark, respectively.
Sarah Stevens, a 2007 World Championships qualifier and a teammate of Pressley’s at Arizona State, is the sixth seed, more than a foot back, but she also owns a throw of 60-4.25, better than the Olympic Games ‘A’ standard of 60-2.5.
Some combination of those six throwers is likely to represent the U.S. in China.