Kara Estelle Winger (née Patterson; born April 10, 1986) is an American
track and field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
athlete who competes in the
javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...
. She is the
American record holder in the javelin throw with a distance of .
Career
At the
2004 United States Olympic Trials (track and field), Patterson finished 19th with a distance of .
In 2005, she won a silver medal at the
2005 Pan Am Junior Games with a distance of .
Kara Patterson met her husband
Russell Winger when he won the silver medal at the
2006 NACAC U23 Championships in Athletics Shot Put and she placed 7th in the javelin. Winger told this story after placing 2nd the
2019 USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Javelin to champion
Ariana Ince.
At the
2008 Olympic Trials, Winger won with a distance of 53.93 m. At the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
, Winger didn't make it past the qualifying round and finished 41st overall with a distance of 54.39 m.
At the
2009 World Trials, Winger won with a distance of 63.95 m. At the
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...
, Patterson didn't make it past the qualifying round and finished 29th overall with a distance of 52.71 m.
At the
2010 US Track and Field Championships, Winger won with a distance of 63.95 m. On June 25, 2010, Patterson broke
Kim Kreiner's American record of 64.19 m set in 2007 with a distance of 66.67 m.
At the
2011 World Trials, Winger won with a distance of 59.34 m. At the
, Winger threw 57.14 meters 21st place in the prelims.
At the
2012 Olympic Trials, Winger earned second place with a distance of 59.79 m. At the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, she finished 31st in the qualifying round, not reaching the final.
At the
2013 World Trials, Winger earned third place with a distance of 55.88 m.
At the
2014 US Track and Field Championships, Winger won with a distance of 62.43 m.
At the
2015 World Trials, Winger won with a distance of 64.94 m. At the
2015 World Championships in Athletics – Women's javelin throw
The women's javelin throw at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Beijing National Stadium on 28 and 30 August.
There were eight automatic qualifiers out of the first round. With the best mark qualifiers, the German team ...
, Winger threw 62.21 m in the prelims to qualify for the final and 60.88 meters in the final to place 8th.
Winger placed 17th with a throw of at
Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's javelin throw
The women's javelin throw event at the 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 3 and 6 August 2021 at the Japan National Stadium. Approximately 35 athletes competed; the exact number was dependent on how many nations use universality places to enter ...
.
At the
2020 Summer Olympics
The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
, Winger carried the flag of the United States of America at the closing ceremonies.
At the
2022 World Athletics Championships
The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...
, Winger won a silver medal, which made her the first American woman to win a medal in javelin at any World Athletics Championships.
At the
2022 NACAC Championships
The 2022 North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships were a regional track and field competition held at Grand Bahama Sports Complex in Freeport, Bahamas, from August 19–21, 2022. It was the fourth edition of a senior track and ...
, Winger won and threw which set a
NACAC Championship record. At the
2022 Diamond League
The 2022 Diamond League was the thirteenth season of the Diamond League, an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings, organised by World Athletics. The competition was a revision to the top level sport of athletics, athletics series since ...
final in Brussels, Winger threw an area record (
North American record), and
US record in Javelin.
World championships
Winger (still Kara Patterson at the time) earned her first invitation to the
world championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
in 2009, while still at Purdue. She fouled on her initial attempt, then threw only 48.88 m on a second attempt. Her third throw went 52.02 m qualifying her as seventh out of eight to make the finals. She fouled again during the finals, but then beat the rest of the field by more than . Her throw of 63.95 m was a career-best and 0.24 m shy of the national record. She was unable to perform that well in Berlin. Her best throw in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
was 52.71 m earning her 28th place.
Winger entered the USA track and field championships held in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...
in 2011. She recorded to beat her nearest competitor by . This throw guaranteed her entry into the 2011 World Championships in
Daegu
Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. Her best throw in the world championships was 57.1 point meters, placing her 20th. She did not qualify for the finals.
In 2012, Winger suffered an ACL injury. She returned to competition in 2013, but was unable to qualify for the
2013 World Championships held in Moscow.
In 2015, Winger earned an invitation to the
World Championships in Athletics
The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...
held in Beijing. All 32 qualifiers compete in the initial qualification event, with the top 12 going on to the finals round. Winger's throw of 62.21 m placed her in twelfth, only 0.04 m ahead of the 13th position. In the finals round, her best throw was 60.88 m, finishing in 8th place.
Winger earned an invitation to the
2017 World Championships held in London. In the qualifying round, she threw 61.27 m and finished 15th.
Winger qualified for the
2019 world championships held in
Doha, Qatar
Doha ( ) 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 and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It is also Qatar's ...
. In the qualifying round she finished seventh with a throw of 62.13 m. She finished fifth with a throw of 63.23 m, the best ever by an American at the world championships.
In 2022, Winger initially announced she would be retiring after this season making this year's
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
her last major international event in her career.
In the qualifier round, Winger threw 61.3 m for fourth in the standings. On her final throw in the finals, she managed 64.05 m for second place. It was the first ever medal earned by an American in the women's javelin at the World Championships.
Personal life
Winger was born in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
in 1986, the daughter of Bruce and Rona Patterson. She went to Alki Middle School and is a 2004 graduate of
Skyview High School in
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...
. She attended
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
and graduated in 2009, majoring in nutrition, fitness and health. She lives with fellow athlete
Russell Winger,
whom she married in September 2014.
National titles
*
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Oly ...
** Javelin: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022
US Championships
Personal bests
Key: AR = Area record, NR = National record
References
External links
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Kara Patterson at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
Kara Pattersonat
ASICS America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winger, Kara
1986 births
Living people
Track and field athletes from Seattle
American female javelin throwers
Olympic track and field athletes for the United States
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States
Purdue Boilermakers women's track and field athletes
USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners
Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games
Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games
Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field)
20th-century American women
21st-century American sportswomen
Diamond League winners