March 6, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Coming off his most recent national title victory at the 2014 USATF Indoor Nationals, Nittany Lion volunteer assistant and Nike athlete Ryan Whiting is set to compete tomorrow at the IAAF Indoor World Championships in Sopot, Poland. The 2013 World Championship silver medalist, as well as the defending World Indoor Champion, Whiting enters the competition as the world's number-one ranked shot putter, standing over two feet ahead of his competition.
Whiting enters the meet after posting the fifth best performance in world history at the 2014 USATF Indoor Nationals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Whiting's throw of 72-11.25 (22.23) is the longest toss recorded indoors since 2008 and landed just short of his lifetime best of 73-1.25 (22.28) set outdoors in 2013. The road to the top won't be an easy one however, with reigning World Outdoor Champion David Storl of Germany in the field, as well as two-time Olympic Champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland.
Guiding Ryan through his Sopot campaign will be Nittany Lion assistant-coach Patrick Ebel. Now in their second year together, the duo achieved instant success with Ebel coaching Whiting to his silver medal performance at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Russia.
Currently in his fourth year assisting the Nittany Lions, Whiting was a six-time NCAA Champion while at Arizona State. Whiting owns the top three performances ever posted by a collegian indoors, including the current-standing collegiate record of 71-3.50 (21.73), which he achieved in 2008. He finished his Sun Devil career as the All-Time No. 2-ranked NCAA competitor outdoors, with a best of 72-1 (21.97).
Whiting won't be the only competitor with Penn State ties, as he'll join former Nittany Lion great Shana Cox who will compete for Great Britain. Cox will be attempting to improve on her fifth place finish at the 2012 World Indoor Championships at 400-meters, as well as defending the World Title she won as part of the 4x400-meter relay at the same championships.
The shot put competition will be held on Friday, March 7, with the qualifying round beginning at 4:05 a.m. (EST). The final is set to be contested on Friday afternoon, beginning at 2:05 p.m. (EST). Both qualifying and finals will be covered live through UniversalSports.com.