Rutger Smith

Summary

Rutger Smith (born 9 July 1981 in Groningen) is a retired Dutch track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw. He is the first athlete to win medals at the World Championships in both events. He represented the Netherlands at the Summer Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012. His personal best of 21.62 m for the shot put is the Dutch national record.

Rutger Smith
Rutger Smith in 2008
Personal information
Full nameRutger Smith
Born (1981-07-09) 9 July 1981 (age 42)
Groningen, Netherlands
Height1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight129 kg (284 lb; 20.3 st)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)shot put – 21.62 (2006)
discus throw – 67.63 (2007)
hammer throw – 60.85 (2001)
Medal record
Representing the  Netherlands
Men's athletics
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2005 Helsinki Shot put
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Osaka Discus
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Osaka Shot put
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2012 Helsinki Shot put
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Göteborg Shot put
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Helsinki Discus
European Cup Winter Throwing
Gold medal – first place 2008 Split Shot Put
Updated on 1 November 2008.

In his first international competition, he won a shot put and discus double at the 1999 European Athletics Junior Championships. At the 2000 World Junior Championships he won medals in both events, and he also competed in both events at the 2004 Olympics. In 2005 he won silver medals in shot put at the European Indoor Championships and World Championships. Two years later he won the bronze medal in the discus at the 2007 World Championships and narrowly missed a shot put medal with a fourth-place finish.

A series of back problems affected his throwing after he competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he did not return to competition until April 2011.[1]

Since then he has competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and won a silver medal at the shot put in the 2012 European Championships.[2] He also finished fourth in the men's discus at the same championships.[3] This result was later upgraded to bronze after the disqualification of Zoltán Kővágó.

Achievements edit

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
1999 European Junior Championships Riga, Latvia 1st Shot put 18.27 m
1st Discus throw 52.89 m
2000 World Junior Championships Santiago, Chile 1st Shot put 19.48 m
3rd Discus throw 58.70 m
2001 Universiade Beijing, China 12th Shot put 18.17 m
11th Discus throw 55.70 m
2002 European Indoor Championships Vienna, Austria 10th (q) Shot put 19.60 m
European Championships Munich, Germany 8th Shot put 19.73 m
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 10th (q) Shot put 19.59 m
European U23 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 3rd Shot put 20.18 m
1st Discus throw 59.90 m
World Championships Paris, France 25th (q) Shot put 19.02 m
15th (q) Discus throw 61.55 m
2004 World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 14th (q) Shot put 19.67
Olympic Games Athens, Greece 13th (q) Shot put 19.69 m
17th (q) Discus throw 61.11 m
2005 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 2nd Shot put 20.79 m
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 2nd Shot put 21.29 m
2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 3rd Shot put 20.90 m
7th Discus throw 64.46 m
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 3rd Shot put 20.74 m
2007 European Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 8th (q) Shot put 19.19 m
World Championships Osaka, Japan 3rd Shot put 21.13 m
3rd Discus throw 66.42 m
World Athletics Final Stuttgart, Germany 5th Shot put 20.01 m
2008 World Indoor Championships Valencia, Spain 4th Shot put 20.78 m
Olympic Games Beijing, China 8th Shot put 20.41 m
7th Discus throw 65.39 m
2011 World Championships Daegu, South Korea 16th (q) Discus throw 62.12 m
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey 7th Shot put 20.30 m
European Championships Helsinki, Finland 2nd Shot put 20.55 m
3rd Discus throw 64.02 m
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 14th (q) Shot put 20.08 m
16th (q) Discus throw 63.09 m
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 11th Discus throw 59.99 m

Personal bests edit

 

References edit

  1. ^ Dutch discus thrower Cadée hits 2011 world-lead, Smith returns Archived 2011-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. European Athletics (2011-04-30). Retrieved on 2011-04-30.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Awards
Preceded by Men's Dutch Athlete of the Year
2007, 2008
Succeeded by