HAMMER
Preliminary Round, Thursday; Final, Saturday.
Best U.S.: 4th, Conor McCullough (2007).
Hlib Piskunov of the Ukraine is a heavy favorite with a world Youth-leading throw of 277-5 with the 5-kilo (11-pound) hammer. He also has the top four meet performances in the world ranging down to 270-1. The battle for places two through six should be fascinating given the fact that five competitors are separated by just two feet. Mykhaylo Havryluk of the Ukraine leads that group with a 257-10 followed by Ned Weatherly of Australia at 256-9, Bobby Colantonio of Barrington (R.I.) at 156-6, Peter Szentivanszky of Hungary at 256-0 and Daniil Danilov of Russia at 255-11. Colantonio won the U.S. Trials at 234-3 and has a best of 243-7 with the high school 12-pound orb.