As the likes of Tom Walsh, Ryan Crouser, Darrell Hill and Darlan Romani lock horns in the fight for the Diamond Trophy, the standard in the men's shot put has reached dizzying new heights in recent years. Eight of the top 10 throws in Diamond League shot put history have come in the last three seasons.
10. 22.40 - Darrell Hill - Zurich 2018
Having catapulted himself into the shot put elite with a sensational victory in the Diamond League final a year earlier, Hill marked an impressive 22.40m in the 2018 final. Despite being one of the biggest throws in the competition's history, it wasn't enough to defend his title, as Tom Walsh won in Zurich to reclaim the Diamond Trophy.
9. 22.41 - Christian Cantwell - Eugene 2010
Cantwell's monster effort in Eugene in the very first Diamond League season smashed the Prefontaine Classic meeting record and stood as the competition record for a solid five years afterwards. One of two meeting records and five victories for Cantwell that season as the American rampaged to the top of the standings to become the shot put's first ever Diamond League champion.
8. 22.43 - Ryan Crouser - Eugene 2017
Crouser looked the firm favourite to take the title in 2017 after he cruised to three consecutive meeting records in the first three meetings of the season. His memorable run of form began on home soil in Eugene, as he cleared 22.43m, a full 72cm ahead of Tom Walsh's second place effort. Come the end of the season, though, Crouser would be denied the ultimate glory thanks to one of the most incredible moments in Diamond League history.
7. 22.44 - Tom Walsh - Paris 2019
No shot putter has won the Diamond Trophy as many times as Tom Walsh; the New Zealand star has taken the title three times in the last four years, most recently in the season just gone. Having not picked up a win on the Road to the Final until August, Walsh hit form at just the right time, smashing the meeting record with his win in Paris before winning the final in Zurich a week later.
6. 22.44 - Darrell Hill - Brussels 2017
Hill's Diamond Trophy-winning throw on the Place de la Monnaie in Brussels is among the most sensational moments in Diamond League history. The unfancied young American had been in form all season, but needed a first 22-metre throw of his career to overtake Ryan Crouser as he stepped up for his final throw in the Diamond League final. Hill left Crouser in shock and his own PB in tatters as he launched a jaw-dropping effort to snatch the Diamond Trophy away from his compatriot at the very last moment.
5. 22.47 - Ryan Crouser - Rabat 2017
Olympic champion Crouser may never have won the Diamond Trophy, but he has more throws in the competition top ten than any other shot putter. The fifth biggest effort in Diamond League shot put history, his 22.47m winning throw in Rabat two years ago extended the American's winning streak to ten competitions in a row.
4. 22.53 - Ryan Crouser - Eugene 2018
A year later in Eugene, Crouser went six centimetres further, leaving Walsh, Hill and co. in the dust with a fifth-round effort of 22.53m. A second consecutive win in his home Diamond League meeting for the American, the victory also saw Crouser extend his own meeting record from the previous year by a full ten centimetres.
3. 22.56 - Joe Kovacs - Monaco 2015
The current golden era of the shot put arguably began as far back as 2015, a year in which America's Joe Kovacs and Germany's David Storl pushed each other to ever loftier heights as they tustled for the Diamond Trophy. Kovacs eventually came out on top, winning a decisive victory in Monaco with a world leading 22.56m, a mark that also broke Cantwell's Diamond League record from five years earlier.
2. 22.60 - Tom Walsh - Zurich 2018
Having lost the Diamond Trophy to Darrell Hill the previous year, Walsh looked odds on favourite to reclaim his title in 2018 after he smashed the meeting record in Oslo and picked up another victory in Lausanne. He lived up to his billing in the Zurich final, launching a new Diamond League record of 22.60m in the second round to hold off Crouser and Hill and be crowned Diamond League champion for the second time in his career.
1. 22.61 - Darlan Romani - Eugene 2019
With the standard in the shot put rising ever higher, however, Walsh's Diamond League record lasted less than a year. At the Prefontaine Classic in Stanford earlier this year, Brazil's Darlan Romani announced himself as the latest challenger to the likes of Walsh and Crouser as he hurled a breathtaking 22.61m to claim his first ever victory on the Diamond League circuit.
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