Rudy Winkler (born December 6, 1994) is an American male

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competes in the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

. Pending ratification, he is the American record holder with a throw of for the hammer and holds a personal best of for the weight throw. He was the hammer national champion in 2016 and 2020, winning the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. and 2020 United States Olympic Trials.

Career

Born in Sand Lake, New York, Winkler attended

Averill Park High School Averill Park Central School District (APCSD) is a suburban and rural fringe public school district located east of the city of Rensselaer in south central Rensselaer County, New York. The district has five operating school buildings: three ele ...

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 The 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on 10–15 ...

. He won his first international medal at the Pan American Junior Championships in 2013, taking the silver medal behind Mexico's

Diego del Real Diego Alan del Real Galindo (born 6 March 1994) is a Mexican hammer thrower. He competed in boys' hammer throw at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் � ...

. He joined

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and competed collegiately for their

Cornell Big Red The Cornell Big Red is the informal name of the sports teams, and other competitive teams, that represent Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York. The university sponsors 37 varsity sports, as well as numerous intramural and club team ...

track team and was selected for the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key at Yale University. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated t ...

society. He topped the field of the weight throw at the 2015

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

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 The 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held from June 10 to June 13, 2015. This was the 94th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 34th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Champi ...

. 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 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 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 World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

, he was invited to compete as one of the highest-ranked athletes, as an insufficient number of people had achieved the mark that year. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his girlfriend, Olivia Foster. His greatest sports influences are his friends and coaches Paddy McGrath and Roman Feldman.

International competitions

National titles

* USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships **Hammer throw:

**Hammer throw:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Personal records

Hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

– (2021) * Discus throw – (2019) * Weight throw – (2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Rudy Living people 1994 births American male hammer throwers Cornell Big Red men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes of the United States People from Sand Lake, New York Track and field athletes from New York (state) Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 20th-century American people 21st-century American people