Mason Finley (born October 7, 1990), is an American shot putter and discus thrower. He was on the track and field team at the University of Kansas before transferring to the University of Wyoming. He qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in discus.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 7, 1990 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 350 lb (159 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Shot put, discus throw | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Wyoming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
editFinley was born in Kansas City, Missouri.[1] He attended Buena Vista High School (where he also played basketball and football) in Buena Vista, Colorado, and then the University of Kansas, before transferring to the University of Wyoming.[2]
For his high school dominance, Finley was named to the ESPN RISE 2000s All-Decade High School Track & Field Team.[3] He was also Track and Field News "High School Athlete of the Year" in 2009.[4]
Career
editFinley set a Colorado high school record in discus with a throw of 236 feet 6 inches (72.09 m) during the High Altitude Challenge in Alamosa, Colorado. He also won gold medals in shot put and discus throw at the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in Port of Spain, Trinidad. As a freshman at Kansas, he was All American in the shot put and the discus. His best throws as a freshman were 60.12m (197–3 ft.) in the discus and 20.68 meters (67-10.25 ft.) in the shot.
In 2017 Finley won the bronze medal in the discus throw event at the World Championships in London, throwing 68.03 meters. This breaks an 18-year drought of no American medalists in the discus throw, and marks the first time an American has placed in the men's discus throw since the World Championships in Seville, where Anthony Washington won the gold medal.[5]
He qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics after placing first in qualification with a throw of 63.07 metres (206.9 ft).[6]
References
edit- ^ "Student-Athlete of the Week: Mason Finley, Buena Vista", Denver Post, May 3, 2009
- ^ "Finley transfers to Wyoming", Wyoming Track and Field, August 22, 2012, archived from the original on February 27, 2013, retrieved February 13, 2013
- ^ "Boys track All-Decade All-Americans", ESPN RISE, December 23, 2009
- ^ "Track & Field News - the Bible of the Sport Since 1948". Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
- ^ "Discus Throw Men − Final − Results" (PDF). IAAF. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Finley Qualifies for Tokyo Olympics". KUAthletics.com. June 25, 2021.
External links
edit- Mason Finley at World Athletics
- University of Wyoming track profile
- University of Kansas track profile
- Mason Finley at www.USATF.org
- Mason Finley at Team USA (archive September 4, 2021)
- Mason Finley at Olympics.com
- Mason Finley at Olympedia
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