Quick Facts
SagittariusBiography
Rudy Winkler (born December 6, 1994) is an American male track and field athlete who competes in the hammer throw. He holds personal bests of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) for the hammer and 22.82 m (74 ft 10 1⁄4 in) for the weight throw. He was the hammer national champion in 2016, winning the 2016 United States Olympic Trials.
Career
Born in Sand Lake, New York, Winkler attended Averill Park High School and competed in the hammer from a young age and represented the United States in age category competitions. He was a finalist at both the 2011 World Youth and the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He won his first international medal at the Pan American Junior Championships in 2013, taking the silver medal behind Mexico's Diego del Real.
He joined Cornell University and competed collegiately for their Cornell Big Red track team and was selected for the Quill and Dagger society. He topped the field of the weight throw at the 2015 Ivy League Indoor Track & Field Championships, then won the hammer title at the conference's outdoor championships later that year. At his first national event, he came eighth in the hammer at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In the 2016 season he defended his Ivy League Indoor title and placed tenth at the NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. He was again hammer champion at the Ivy League Outdoor meet and set a personal record of 72.84 m (238 ft 11 1⁄2 in) to place runner-up to Britain's Nick Miller at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
At the 2016 United States Olympic Trials a big personal best of 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) brought him his first national title and selection for the USA Olympic team. Although he was just short of the 77-meter qualifying standard set by the IAAF, he was invited to compete as one of the highest-ranked athletes, as an insufficient number of people had achieved the mark that year.
International competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | World Youth Championships | Lille, France | 9th | Hammer throw | 68.14 m |
| 2012 | World Junior Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 11th | Hammer throw | 69.35 m |
| 2013 | Pan American Junior Championships | Medellin, Colombia | 2nd | Hammer throw | 71.79 m |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 18th (q) | Hammer throw | 71.89 m |
National titles
- USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
- Hammer throw: 2016
Personal records
- Hammer throw – 76.76 m (251 ft 10 in) (2016)
- Discus throw – 48.17 m (158 ft 0 1⁄4 in) (2015)
- Weight throw – 22.82 m (74 ft 10 1⁄4 in) (2016)