Miller close to 21 metres

Shot putter Ashinia Miller does not know when he will next be competing, but he is excited. That is because his last meet yielded a personal best that drew him close to the 21m barrier. As happy as he is about that, he expects to do better.

Miller, a star for Calabar High School and now a first-year professional athlete, put his personal best out to 20.93m at the recent Bermuda Invitational Meet. The victorious big throw surprised him little. "I didn't expect to throw that far based on my training, but it felt good." That put him close to the 21m threshold, which has only been surpassed by two Jamaicans: 2015 IAAF World Championship bronze medallist O'Dayne Richards and 2012 Olympic finalist Dorian Scott.

"To be honest, I've been training with 21m the entire season," he explained. Without getting ahead of himself, Miller expects to join the 21m group soon. "People keep saying to me, 'Hey 20.93m is a big throw,'" he recounted, "but to me, it's not a big throw, based on where I know I can be."

The Bermuda winner is the world's 11th-best shot putter of 2018.

Asked for the date and time of this next competition, Miller said, "I'm not sure what year, but yes, excited."

He still consults with University of Georgia coach Don Babbit, but these days, he has the wisdom of former World champion Reese Hoffa to guide him, as well as training partners like 2017 World champion Tom Walsh. "He's coming back in the end of May, so I get the privilege to train with Tom Walsh, Reese Hoffa and all those experienced guys," he said of his training group, "and they have ... a recipe for success."