 Joe Kovacs though has been in brilliant form. Joe Kovacs here in his fourth round throw. Goodness me, look at that. Hey everybody, it's Eric Johnson from Aritaite Throws Nation. In today's video, we are going to talk about one living shot put legend. That would be Joe Kovacs. He had his greatest season of his career. He's 33 years old this year. He had a world leading throw of 23-23 which was 76-2. An absolute bomb. Only five and a half inches off the world record of 14 centimeters. And you know, I want to do this because Joe really is like the measure of perseverance. He was a good shot putter in high school and it wasn't like a multi-time NCAA shot putter. He came out and he had a massive PR in his final senior year going into like the Olympic trials back in the day when he was, you know, coming out of his college thing, worked it up and within a few years became one of the best throwers in the world. Since then, obviously Joe has won two world championship titles. Two Olympic silvers and a World Silver. And one of the things that I think is awfully inspiring about Joe is that he's five foot ten and three quarters. So he's not the tallest guy. If you've ever met Joe, you'll see he's got really long arms. The guy is absolutely jacked and he's probably one of the strongest guys in the world. Now, why that's important, he doesn't just chase strength. I had the pleasure of doing an interview with him and his wife, Ashley Kovacs, who's just his coach. And she's had huge success and they made a lot of changes. And one of the things he mentioned in that interview was he could throw the 18-pound shot further than he could throw the 14-pound shot. So they made a series of changes and that was back in 2019. And at that point, he had three meets over 22 meters that year with a massive PR of $22.91 to win his world title. But in 2021, he had seven meets over 22 meters. And this year alone, he had 11 competitions over 22 meters. And he had six of his top all-time top 10 throws this year in 2022. So it's a really good example of you continue to work your craft. You continue to learn and learn about your training, your strength training. I think his strength story is interesting because not only has he always been really strong, but now he was finding out how to make more application and apply that strength. And clearly the formula is working. So with all that said, let's take a look at the top 10 performances of Jill Kovacs this year in 2022, starting with number 10. Here we are in Switzerland. This was his last competition of the year and just two meets after the Diamond League final. He goes 22-19, which was 72-9 and put together obviously a nice long season. I think this was his 17th meet of the season. And so 11 meets over 22 meters. So here you go, 72-11 is his number nine performance of the year. And I think what's always going to be interesting, you know, this was a little earlier on. This is when he was rocking his Duluth Trading Company gear and he looks, you know, super comfy. And he's kind of got really nice looking style there. But here's the thing with Joe. You know, you see that throw and what I tend to like. I tend and just personally as a coach, I love to see when the shot lines up and comes straight down the sector. I know other people think other, but you can see who really lines it up on his better throws. Here is a season opener. And that being said, look at that baby right down the middle of the sector. And I think this is a perfect opportunity to kind of look and we're going to slow this down. So watch, I think this is what's nice. Look at how wide the left is. Now here I think he turned left and comparing this to like his 23 meter throw. This actually looks to me more stacked and I almost think this may be a little bit better technically, but I would love to hear his insights and see what he says because obviously this isn't as far, but look at that. And here's the difference that I see between what he did at 23 meters and what he did at 22. His left foot is further over here. And what you want to see, I think when you threw the 23, you're going to notice that the left foot was a little bit more kind of in line with that left sector line. But look at that. This is the mark of what you want to see with shot putters. He's really dialed up and he's really squaring up this baby straight down the pipe. And this was the season opener where he hit that nice big 22-46. So now you see he goes to the pre-fontane. It's going to be a big showdown between him and Krauser and Walsh. And again, 73-9 performance for his number seventh throw of the year. And I think that's what's again really, you know, amazing about this year. He had more meets over 22 meters than he did between the years of 2015 and 2018 combined. So now we hit the number six. He hits Belgium 22-61, a 74-2. This is obviously post-World Champs and post-USA's. And so for his number six performance of the year again, one time a 1999 World Champion, Anthony Washington once told me he goes, it's not about how far somebody's thrown one time. It's about how far somebody throws consistently. That's what really tells you what you're up against. This is where you see Joe's consistency is absolutely incredible. So here we go to the Diamond League, Switzerland 22-65. Again, post-World's competition for his number five performance of the year. Again, this guy's traveling overseas. You know, he had very few meets under 72 feet, not a single meet under 70 feet. And, you know, different conditions and travel. But now look at, if you look at these bigger throws, look at the position of the left foot in all of those throws. They're all tend to be more in line. They're not over. You notice earlier in the season that, which was still a big throw, 73. But what's the difference between 73 and 75? These little details are going to start to make a bigger and bigger difference. So again, huge performances for Joe, 75 feet, even multiple throws at 75 feet. Really put the pressure on Krauser and those two just pushed one another to perform. So two big throws at 22-89. So a total of three throws over 75 or four meets over 75 feet this year. Absolutely incredible. So he did the first one here at the World Championships in Eugene and that second one was in Hungary after the World Championships. But again, this is where Joe again had a phenomenal series, really puts the pressure on. And here's again, one of those little details. Watch as he slows it down and watches his left foot in the power position. Again, compare that to the 73 foot versus 75 foot. You're seeing that the base is a little bit more lined up. So, and I think that's super critical. So now when we look at the big throw, right? The world leading 23-23-76-2. And you know, right when he lets it go, it's the same kind of reaction he had like the Krauser had once he lets it go. You know what that great throw feels like really lined up and he really puts it in here. What my humble opinion is looking at that performance, I think they're still in there. And way back it was, I believe it was 2016 when Joe had a 2016 or 2015. I can't remember. I'm getting old. It's been a while when Joe hit the massive warm-up. It was a 24 plus meter kind of looking throw at La Jolla down in San Diego. And I remember seeing that. It really was a jaw dropping like, whoa, what did I just see? And then, you know, for kicks they measured it and it was just over 24. Thing that's scary is, is that this guy is better than he's ever been. Him and his wife are an absolute magical combo. And you can really see that that through the performances. Again, the last two seasons have been by far the best and most consistent. In this, these last two seasons he's had more throws over 22 meters, like he said, than his previous like six seasons combined, right? So congratulations to Joe. We just thought this was a great thing to look at. Again, consistency in technique, consistency in understanding how to keep performing at those high levels, weekend and week out. Once you get to this level, there's so many details that have been mastered. And remember, for those of you guys that are trying to figure those things out, check the link in the description for some of the different services we offer throwing chain reaction system to help you find the things that are going to help you unlock your potential. And don't forget, this guy's a perfect example of this is going to be a frustration. You're going to hit points sometimes that are going to challenge you. And they're going to make you think, should I continue to do this? And he was almost at that point of quitting in 2018 after a really rough season, but he came back and won a world title and obviously he's just gotten better and better. And it's really awesome to see. And we couldn't pass on looking back at 2022 and giving paying homage to the living goat. And congratulations to Joe, his awesome wife, Ashley. You guys are amazing. So if you guys out there like this, be sure to comment anything you see. What do you think was the best thing about Joe's amazing season? Throw it in the comments below and we will see you on the next video. Take care.