Throwers’ ball: Chase Jackson breaks own American record in shot put at Iron Wood Classic
RATHDRUM – Chase Jackson isn’t the Babe Ruth of her game yet. But she’s following the blueprint.
This week, she called her shot.
No, not by pointing toward the center-field seats, a la The Babe. But a Wednesday prediction turned into a Saturday truth at the 10th Iron Wood Classic, as Jackson broke her American record in the shot put, putting her season into overdrive with the finish line still more than two months away.
“Hey, I said quote it,” Jackson said with a bit of a shrug about her midweek call that the record would fall. “If you don’t believe in yourself, then don’t get in the ring. I just thought I could throw far and I was ready for it.”
Ready? It took all of one throw.
Jackson’s opener was marked 68 feet, 8¾ inches on the laser measuring device, at which point the steel tape came out for record purposes and pushed it back a centimeter. The adjustment to 68-8½ adds 7 inches to the record she claimed in 2023 at the Prefontaine Classic. It’s also the top throw in the world this year.
“They asked me and I said, ‘Do the steel,’ ” Jackson said, “so the haters can’t say anything.”
That made her a 4-foot winner over friend and rival Maggie Ewen, who pulled out second over Oregon Olympian Jaida Ross in the sixth and final round. But with no one pushing her and the record throw putting her adrenaline needle into the red, Jackson didn’t get much done the rest of the day. There was a 67-1¼ heave among four fouls, including three out of the sector. She was as rough on distance markers as on the record book – and will certainly need more consistency as she shoots for a third World Championship later in the year.
“I got a little excited and lost the technique,” she said. “Everything started being just a little too fast. It’s a tough balance. You hit a big one like that opener and it can go either of two ways – you’ll either have the best series of your life or it can fall apart.”
With a national record in the day’s first event, the rest of the meet could have seemed somewhat anticlimactic, despite what may have been the most elite field in Iron Wood history. Twenty-four Olympians made their way out Highway 53, as well as three world champions – throwing depth that will rival even the 50th Pre meet next week.
But none of the competitors suggested even the hint of a letdown.
“Pre’s one of my favorite meets of the year,” said men’s shot winner Payton Otterdahl, a Nebraska resident who throws under the Iron Wood club flag, “but I’m a little biased – I like Iron Wood.
“It’s a meet by throwers for throws. We know most of the people here and it’s sort of a big family reunion – one of the few meets we all get to be together. Most of our big meets we have one or two of the events, but here we have all of them.”
Otterdahl won his third straight Iron Wood title at 72-5¾, the No. 2 throw in the world this season although short of his meet record 73-5¼ from a year ago. Still, his series included another 72-footer and one at 71-4.
With a Diamond League win in Morocco under his belt, Otterdahl has some momentum going after a bitter climax to 2024 when he missed the Olympic podium by 5 inches.
“Doing as well as you can without a medal is definitely frustrating,” he said, “especially when that mark would have gotten a medal in any other Olympics besides Tokyo.
“That’s a tough spot to be in, but it’s also a blessing. It’s all the motivation I need for the next four years.”
Also tasting some of that medicine last year was DeAnna Price, the American hammer record-holder who also picked off a third Iron Wood title on what she called an off day with a throw of 252-0 – almost 12 feet in front of Olympic silver medalist Annette Echikunwoke, but 33 inches short of her meet record.
Price partially tore her right hamstring in May 2024, then finished the job – without being aware of it – at the Olympic Trials a month later. Finishing 11th in Paris was “crushing,” she said, though she has come to terms with it as one of those “moments that keep you humbled.”
One other meet record fell – in the men’s javelin, with the top U.S. thrower, Curtis Thompson, ripping a fifth-round best of 268-10, 18 inches beyond his 2024 winning distance. Repeat winners also surfaced in the two discus events, with Andrew Evans (211-9) winning No. 3 and American world champ Laulauga Tausaga reaching 218-5 in an event that saw the lead change hands three times. Hammer thrower Tanner Berg (246-6) and javelin Olympic Madison Wiltrout (188-7) took the other victories.