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

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

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

. He is the NACAC area record holder and American record holder with a throw of for the hammer and holds a personal best of for the

weight throw Weight throw (or Weight for distance) is a traditional strength sport and throwing event derived from ancient Scottish Highland games. Unlike its other counterpart, the Weight over bar which involves a stationary pendulum like swing for height, ...

. He was the hammer national champion in 2016 and 2020, winning the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. and 2020 United States Olympic Trials.

Career

Born in

Sand Lake, New York Sand Lake is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in south-central part of Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County, New York (state), New York, United States. Sand Lake is about 13 miles east of Albany, New York, Albany, New Y ...

, 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 ...

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 Athletics U20 Championships, World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international Sport of athletics, athletics competition for athletes qualifying as Junior (athletics), juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the E ...

. 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, finishing first in the B final and then 4th at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Personal life Diego Alan ...

. He joined

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and competed collegiately for their

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

track team and was selected for the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University, founded in 1893. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated that election into Quill and Dagger and similar societies constituted "the highest non-scholastic honor within reach of unde ...

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

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

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 Cham ...

. 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 The NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate indoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The first edition of the championship was held in 1965, a ...

. 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. Following his graduation in 2017, Winkler used the last of his NCAA eligibility for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights track and field team, setting their school record and placing 4th at the

2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 97th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 37th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the sixth consecutive yea ...

. 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 and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

, 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 fiancé, 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 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 ...

**Hammer throw:

2020 The year 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 even ...

Personal records

Hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

– (2021) *

Discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

– (2019) *

Weight throw Weight throw (or Weight for distance) is a traditional strength sport and throwing event derived from ancient Scottish Highland games. Unlike its other counterpart, the Weight over bar which involves a stationary pendulum like swing for height, ...

– (2017)

References

External links

* * * * *
Rudy Winkler
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

(archived
alternate link
* {{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 for the United States People from Sand Lake, New York Track and field athletes from New York (state) Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in athletics (track and field) USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century American sportsmen Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's track and field athletes