Dylan Armstrong (born January 15, 1981) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

ter. He is a two-time

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

champion, a former

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

champion and has also won world championship silver and bronze medals. He was awarded the bronze medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

seven years after the event in 2015, following a doping disqualification by competitor

Andrei Mikhnevich Andrei Anatolyevich Mikhnevich ( be, Андрэй Анатолевіч Міхневіч, Andrej Michnievič, russian: Андрей Анатольевич Михневич; born 12 July 1976 in Babruysk) is a Belarusian shot putter with a personal ...

. Armstrong holds the Canadian national record and the

record for shot put, and is a former holder of the Commonwealth games record. With his world championship medal, Armstrong was the first Canadian to reach the podium in a throwing event in a major global competition.

Career

Prior to focusing on the shot put in 2004, Armstrong competed 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 ...

. As a junior, he won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the 1999 Pan American Junior Games and a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the 2000 World Junior Championships. He continues to hold the North American high school and junior records in the hammer throw. His personal best is 71.51 meters, achieved in April 2003 in

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

. Armstrong achieved a personal best, and Canadian record at that time, of 21.04 meters at the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, where he finished fourth, missing out on a

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

by a single centimetre. However, on August 20, 2014 the Canadian Olympic Committee announced that Armstrong would be awarded the

2008 Summer Olympic The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

bronze medal by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

. This followed a retroactive lifetime ban for doping violations dating back to 2005 given to Belarusian shot putter

, who had won the medal initially.

Commonwealth and World Championships success

28 years after former Canadian national champion Bruno Pauletto won gold at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the a ...

Armstrong succeeded in reiterating that performance at the 2010 edition of the Games, placing first with a Commonwealth record of 21.02 m. At the 2010 World Indoor Championship, in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

, Dylan placed fourth with a Canadian indoor record of 21.39 m. He improved his outdoor national record to 21.58 m at the Askina Meeting in

Baunatal Baunatal is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is a comparatively young town which arose from fusion of the formerly independent municipalities ''Altenbauna'', ''Altenritte'', ''Großenritte'', ''Guntershausen'', ''Hertingshau ...

, Germany, beating

Ralf Bartels Ralf Bartels (born 21 February 1978 in Stavenhagen, Germany, then German Democratic Republic) is a German shot putter. He became European Champion at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg, Sweden after beating Belarusian An ...

to the victory. When in 2014 Andrei Mikhnevich was stripped of the event's silver medal for doping violations, Armstrong moved up to the bronze medal position. His first true world success came at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in th ...

when he won the silver at the outdoor event for shot put. He threw a 21.64 before David Storl of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

beat him with a 21.78 on his last throw. Armstrong next attended the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

, there he went on to win gold and broke the Pan American Games record with a 21.30. Armstrong finished off the year by winning the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

title in shot put. As one of Canada's leading medal favorites and only medal favorite in athletics, Armstrong had set a season's best of 21.50 heading into the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London. There he finished 5th, falling short of a medal.

Olympic bronze medal awarded

Prior to the beginning of the

2013 World Athletics Championships The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics (sport), athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, Russi ...

, Armstrong was awarded the bronze medal from the

2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010. Bidding and organisation Th ...

after

's positive drug test and subsequent forfeiture of his silver medal. At the time the IAAF and IOC had yet to rule on whether Armstrong would as well receive the bronze medal from the 2008 Olympics where he just missed the podium behind Mikhnevich. In an interview regarding the possible return of the medal Armstrong stated that "I worked hard for it, and I want it back...It's my country's medal too, we deserve it." The decision to allocate the Olympic bronze medal to Armstrong was finally announced in January 2015. After the awarding of his indoor medal, Armstrong began competition at the 2013 World Championships. He qualified for the finals where he threw 21.04 m. In the finals he tossed a season's best 21.34 m. Armstrong acknowledge the importance of sport funding as a result of what was Canada's fourth medal at the World Championships, tying a record from the 1995 World Championships. He said that "I just feel amazing. My coach and I worked really hard, I made some really good choices this year. It's another medal for Canada, it shows that when you have the right coaches in place, the right support and the funding behind it that it's going to pay off. You have to invest in sport, results don't come for free." Armstrong received his medal at a ceremony in his hometown of Kamloops on February 15, 2015, around 700 people attended the event. Following his competitive career, Armstrong started coaching amateur athletes at the

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

Track and Field Club in 2017.

Personal life

Armstrong lives in

Kamloops, British Columbia Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...

and trains there at the nearby National Throws Centre with coach

Anatoliy Bondarchuk Anatoly (russian: Анато́лий, Anatólij , uk, Анато́лій, Anatólij ) is a common Russian and Ukrainian male given name, derived from the Greek name ''Anatolios'', meaning "sunrise." Other common Russian transliterations are Ana ...

. In September 2015 Armstrong married the Russian shot putter Yevgeniya Kolodko whom he dated since 2012.Canadian Olympian's wife caught in latest Russian doping scandal: report
CBC Sports (May 31, 2016)

Achievements

References

External links

*
Profile at Athletics Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Dylan 1981 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian male shot putters Canadian male hammer throwers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Sportspeople from Kamloops World Athletics Championships medalists Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Diamond League winners Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century Canadian people Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games