Kovacs defends US fame in shot put

US hercules Joe Kovacs threw 21.93 meters in men's shot put final at the 2015 IAAF World Championships here on Sunday, winning the gold medal and defending the country's worldwide reputation in this sport.

Kovacs, and German hot favorite David Storl, both made best records in the 5th attempt. Storl, who improved his personal best to 22.20m in Lausanne this summer, took the silver with 21.74m.

Kovacs and Storl are the only two athletes who throw beyond 22 meters this year. However, Kovacs led the 2015 world list with his massive 22.56m in Monaco a month ago, which elevated him to the 8th on the world all-time list, the best distance of the world since 2003.

"I'm really thrilled. I went back and forth all the way until the last round, which is a little nerving," said Kovacs. "My coach calmed me down and we worked on this technique. It wasn't the best throw, but it was enough to win."

"This is the first team I ever made and the hardest thing in the US is to make the team, because we are so good in the shot put group. Once we got on the team, you have to expect to come here to perform the best." said Kovacs about the pressure that American team faced.

Storl expressed his disappointment after failing to win the title. "This really hurts. I wanted to do much better than 21.74m. It was difficult for me to get into the competition and I lost my line." he said.

"The pressure was high, I was also nervous and had high expectations. I'm not so satisfied with my result. I could have thrown more. I made mistakes and I got a cramp in my calf." the German added.

The bronze went to Jamaican O'Dayne Richards, who threw out his PB 21.69m, which refreshed his national record. Endi