Adam Nelson
Encyclopedia
Adam Nelson (born July 7, 1975 in Atlanta
, Georgia
) is an elite American
shotputter. A 1997 graduate of Dartmouth College
in Hanover
, New Hampshire
, Nelson has competed in two Olympic Games
. In 1996, Nelson worked at a concession stand during the 1996 Summer Olympics
in his hometown of Atlanta.
in Atlanta, Georgia and was a letterman and a standout in both football and track & field. Adam Nelson graduated from The Lovett School
in 1993.
, Nelson won various accolades as a member of the track and field
team. He still holds the Dartmouth
shot put record with a throw of 65 feet 3 inches (19.88 m). In addition, Nelson played on the football
team, as a linebacker and later, as a defensive tackle, becoming the first freshman to play football at Dartmouth
in 1993. Prior to 1993, the Ivy League
prohibited first-year students from playing on the varsity football team. He was a member of Dartmouth's 1996 undefeated Ivy League champion team, and served as President of Chi Heorot
fraternity in 1997.
In the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney, Australia
, Nelson earned a silver medal after coming in first place in the 2000 Olympic Trials for shotput. Going into the Games
, Nelson was the favorite to win, having won every major shotput event in the summer of 2000. His throw of 21.21 m (69 ft 7 in) was just three inches (8 cm) short of the winning throw by gold medalist Arsi Harju
.
Nelson's personal best is 22.51 (73 ft 10 in), which he threw in 2002. At that time, this was the third longest throw in U.S.
history and the ninth farthest ever in the world.
Nelson also earned a silver medal in the shot put finals at the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens, Greece. The shot put was held in a spectacular setting at the original Stadium of Ancient Olympia
, bringing Olympic competition back to the venue for the first time in over a millennium. Nelson jumped out in front of the field with his first throw of 21.16 m (69 feet, 5 inches), and held the lead going into the sixth and final round. As the leader, Nelson was scheduled to be the last thrower in the round and thus, the competition. The holder of the 2nd place throw, Yuriy Bilonog of the Ukraine was scheduled to throw second to last. If Nelson remained in first place after Bilonog's final throw, he would know that he had won his first gold medal and his last throw would become moot. It was not to be; Yury Bilonog stepped up and threw 21.16 m (69 feet, 5 inches) to tie Nelson for first place with his sixth throw. To break a tie, the competitors' second best throws are compared, and unfortunately, Nelson had fouled every throw since his competition-leading first throw. Nelson entered the ring for his final throw and unleashed what looked to be a gold medal winning 70 foot throw but fouled by stepping on the line to the left front of the circle. Thus, by virtue of the tie-breaker and his superior second-best throw, Yuriy Bilonog won the gold medal and Nelson had to settle for his second consecutive Olympic silver medal. Nelson initially protested vociferously to the officials but later realized that he did in fact foul and apologized for his emotional reaction.
Nelson's silver medal was the first track and field
medal for the United States
in the 2004 Summer Olympics
. Nelson finally achieved his dreams of a major world title when he won gold at the 2005 World Athletics Championships
with a throw of 21.73 meters. He has qualified to compete in his third straight Olympics in Beijing, placing third at the 2008 US Trials. Nelson is also a prominent campaigner against doping
in sport.
Nelson regularly reads and posts on The Ring, an online track and field forum, and as of November 2009 has endorsed Force Factor brand sports supplements.
2008 22.12 Eugene, OR 08/06/2008
Indoor
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
) is an elite American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
shotputter. A 1997 graduate of Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in Hanover
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, Nelson has competed in two Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. In 1996, Nelson worked at a concession stand during the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
in his hometown of Atlanta.
High school years
Nelson attended The Lovett SchoolThe Lovett School
The Lovett School is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade independent school located in north Atlanta, Georgia.-History:In September 1926, Mrs. Eva Edwards Lovett, an innovative educator who emphasized the development of the whole child, officially began The Lovett School with 20...
in Atlanta, Georgia and was a letterman and a standout in both football and track & field. Adam Nelson graduated from The Lovett School
The Lovett School
The Lovett School is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade independent school located in north Atlanta, Georgia.-History:In September 1926, Mrs. Eva Edwards Lovett, an innovative educator who emphasized the development of the whole child, officially began The Lovett School with 20...
in 1993.
College years and Olympic glory
While he was an undergraduate at DartmouthDartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, Nelson won various accolades as a member of the track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
team. He still holds the Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
shot put record with a throw of 65 feet 3 inches (19.88 m). In addition, Nelson played on the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team, as a linebacker and later, as a defensive tackle, becoming the first freshman to play football at Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1993. Prior to 1993, the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
prohibited first-year students from playing on the varsity football team. He was a member of Dartmouth's 1996 undefeated Ivy League champion team, and served as President of Chi Heorot
Chi Heorot
Chi Heorot is a local fraternity at Dartmouth College located in Hanover, NH.-History:Heorot was founded in 1897 as a local fraternity called Alpha Alpha Omega. In 1902 it was granted a charter as the Chi chapter of Chi Phi...
fraternity in 1997.
In the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Nelson earned a silver medal after coming in first place in the 2000 Olympic Trials for shotput. Going into the Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, Nelson was the favorite to win, having won every major shotput event in the summer of 2000. His throw of 21.21 m (69 ft 7 in) was just three inches (8 cm) short of the winning throw by gold medalist Arsi Harju
Arsi Harju
Arsi Ilari Harju is a Finnish shot putter with the team Perhon kiri. He won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics with a distance of 21.29 metres. His personal best is 21.39, which he put in the qualifiers for the same Olympics. Due to his success in the Olympics and elsewhere that year,...
.
Nelson's personal best is 22.51 (73 ft 10 in), which he threw in 2002. At that time, this was the third longest throw in U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
history and the ninth farthest ever in the world.
Nelson also earned a silver medal in the shot put finals at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens, Greece. The shot put was held in a spectacular setting at the original Stadium of Ancient Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
, bringing Olympic competition back to the venue for the first time in over a millennium. Nelson jumped out in front of the field with his first throw of 21.16 m (69 feet, 5 inches), and held the lead going into the sixth and final round. As the leader, Nelson was scheduled to be the last thrower in the round and thus, the competition. The holder of the 2nd place throw, Yuriy Bilonog of the Ukraine was scheduled to throw second to last. If Nelson remained in first place after Bilonog's final throw, he would know that he had won his first gold medal and his last throw would become moot. It was not to be; Yury Bilonog stepped up and threw 21.16 m (69 feet, 5 inches) to tie Nelson for first place with his sixth throw. To break a tie, the competitors' second best throws are compared, and unfortunately, Nelson had fouled every throw since his competition-leading first throw. Nelson entered the ring for his final throw and unleashed what looked to be a gold medal winning 70 foot throw but fouled by stepping on the line to the left front of the circle. Thus, by virtue of the tie-breaker and his superior second-best throw, Yuriy Bilonog won the gold medal and Nelson had to settle for his second consecutive Olympic silver medal. Nelson initially protested vociferously to the officials but later realized that he did in fact foul and apologized for his emotional reaction.
Nelson's silver medal was the first track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
medal for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
. Nelson finally achieved his dreams of a major world title when he won gold at the 2005 World Athletics Championships
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
with a throw of 21.73 meters. He has qualified to compete in his third straight Olympics in Beijing, placing third at the 2008 US Trials. Nelson is also a prominent campaigner against doping
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
in sport.
Nelson regularly reads and posts on The Ring, an online track and field forum, and as of November 2009 has endorsed Force Factor brand sports supplements.
Achievements
| Representing the | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | World Junior Championships 1994 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 1994 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-References:* at GBRathletics.com* from World Junior Athletics History... |
Lisbon, Portugal | 1st | 18.34 m |
| 2001 | World Championships 2001 World Championships in Athletics The 8th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 3 August and 12 August and was the first time the event had visited North America... |
Edmonton, Canada | 2nd | 21.24 m 2001 World Championships in Athletics – Men's shot put The Men's Shot Put event at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, Canada was held on Saturday August 4, 2001. There were a total number of 30 participating athletes, with the qualification mark set at 20.45 metres.-Medalists:-Schedule:... |
| 2004 | Olympic Games Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put... |
Athens, Greece | 2nd | 21.16 m |
Career progression
Outdoor- 2010 21.29 Zürich 18/08/2010
- 2009 21.11 Berlin 15/08/2009
2008 22.12 Eugene, OR 08/06/2008
- 2007 21.61 Osaka 25/08/2007
- 2006 22.04 Indianapolis, IN 23/06/2006
- 2005 21.92 Monaco 10/09/2005
- 2004 21.68 Gresham, OR 05/06/2004
- 2003 21.29 Kuortane 20/07/2003
- 2002 22.51 Portland 18/05/2002
- 2001 21.53 Rüdlingen 19/08/2001
- 2000 22.12 Sacramento, CA 15/07/2000
- 1999 20.64 Palma de Mallorca 10/07/1999
- 1998 20.61 Rüdlingen 23/08/1998
- 1997 19.92 01/01/1997
- 1996 19.14 01/01/1996
- 1995 18.27 01/01/1995
- 1994 18.34 Lisboa 23/07/1994
Indoor
- 2010 20.91 Bydgoszcz 10/02/2010
- 2009 20.79 New York (MSG), NY 30/01/2009
- 2008 22.40 Fayetteville, AR 15/02/2008
- 2006 20.99 Boston (Roxbury), MA 28/01/2006
- 2005 21.66 Boston (Roxbury), MA 29/01/2005
- 2004 19.81 New York (Msg), NY 06/02/2004
- 2003 20.63 Boston (Roxbury), MA 02/03/2003
- 2002 21.57 New York (Armory), NY 01/03/2002
- 2001 21.40 Atlanta, GA 03/03/2001
- 1999 20.32 Atlanta, GA 27/02/1999
- 1998 19.86 Indianapolis, IN 13/03/1998