/ Bob Adams / 01 September 2011 / Leave a Comment 
You wouldn't want to meet Chris Cantwell in a dark alley
"In a bid to find the best value I am going to dutch on Cantwell and Nelson in the win market, but only for small stakes."
Bob Adams attempts to find the best value from amongst a large group of very large Americans throwing a steel ball, as well as telling us why Belgium can come good in one of the team events.
To hurl a ball of steel weighing 7.26kg over 20m takes herculean strength, but every one of the twelve huge finalists in today's men's Shot Put final have managed to do just that, and five of them have regularly thrown over 22m. This makes today's final particularly intriguing and hence the Betfair market has a real open look to it with punters uncertain which way to throw their money.
With the top ten throwers in the world in the startlist, this is going to be one hell of a contest and the grunts and groans are going to be off the scale as the concerted effort to beat off the opposition begins to tell. It's conceivable that the USA could bag all three medals with their four throwers equally capable of pulling out the big one when it matters. Former World Champion Adam Nelson ([27.0]) is a big price considering his pedigree and even though he's approaching the veteran stage, this former college linebacker is no back number and remains a major threat. Current outdoor and indoor World Champion and Olympic silver medallist Christian Cantwell [4.6] is a thrower the others dare not ignore and Cantwell will be itching to retain his title.
Former World Champion Reese Hoffa [8.0] is another candidate with a decent record in major competitions and the final American, Ryan Whiting [19.0] is the young pretender in his first major championships. The US certainly has strength in depth and importantly, a team ethos that will stand them in good stead as the competition begins to hot up.
The main threats to total US domination of the Shot Put competition are going to come from leading qualifier and Commonwealth Champion Dylan Armstrong [5.0] of Canada and European Champion Andrey Mikhnevich [5.2] of Belarus.
Armstrong tops the IAAF rankings for 2011 with Mikhnevich shadowing him all the way and Nelson only a wafer behind the pair. I am going to omit Whiting strictly on the grounds of his lack of experience at this level and it will no doubt be a closely fought contest between the other five. In a bid to find the best value I am going to dutch on Cantwell and Nelson in the win market, but only for small stakes.
The baton change is all important in the 4x400m relay and one fumble or one missed connection can make the difference between triumph and disaster. This was evidenced in the semi-finals when the Japanese quartet, running way above their current world ranking, completely fouled up the second changeover and dropped right back and out of contention. In stark contrast, the US team, almost their 'B' team in fact, were ultra-efficient in winning their semi and it will take a talented team to lower their colours when the 'A' team turns up in today's final.
Undoubtedly Jamaica will pose a threat as they always do in sprint events and South Africa with the Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius nailing their lead leg are another nation with medal aspirations. It will be eyeballs out all the way in this relay final and I feel the US are certain to claim gold. However, I was impressed by the Belgian team in the semis who put a strong Russian quartet in the shade with Kenya and a talented Bahamian team both behind and I'll take the Belgians to podium in the 1-2-3 market.
Recommended Bets:
Back Adam Nelson [27.0] to win today's Shot Put final
Back Christian Cantwell [4.6] to win today's Shot Put final
Back Belgium [2.0] to get on the podium in today's 4 x 400m final
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