On Day 1 of Athletics of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, India’s Manpreet Kaur failed to qualify for the final of the women’s shot put after a rather disappointing outing in the qualifying round. With a best throw of only 17.06m, Manpreet finished 23rd overall among the women in both groups combined.
The distance required to qualify automatically for the final was set at 18.40m with room for the 12 best performers to advance to the final. Of the 36 women who took part, only six women threw a distance more than 18.40m.
Valerie Adams of New Zealand topped the qualifying round with a distance of 19.74m while Christina Schwanitz of Germany finished second with a distance of 19.18m. USA’s Michelle Carter was the only other woman to cross the 19-metre mark with a distance of 19.01m.
Manpreet's best ever was at the National Championships where she had hit a personal best of 17.96 metres – a new national record. The shot putter from Patiala had actually gone on record and stated that she had thrown 18.60 metres in practice and claimed that 19 metres was not a tough ask.
The rain may have played a part as the women struggled to keep the shot dry with towels but that did not deter the top three from throwing a distance of more than 19 metres.
| # | Country | Athlete | Distance (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand | Valerie Adams | 19.74 |
| 2 | Germany | Christina Schwanitz | 19.18 |
| 3 | USA | Michelle Carter | 19.01 |
| 4 | USA | Raven Saunders | 18.83 |
| 5 | China | Lijiao Gong | 18.74 |
| 6 | Hungary | Anita Marton | 18.51 |
| 7 | Brazil | Geisa Arcanjo | 18.27 |
| 8 | Trinidad & Tobago | Cleopatra Borel | 18.20 |
| 9 | Chile | Natalia Duco | 18.18 |
| 10 | Cameroon | Auriole Dongmo | 17.92 |
| 11 | Belarus | Alena Abramchuk | 17.78 |
| 12 | Belarus | Aliona Dubitskaya | 17.76 |
