Karlstad Street Meet

I arrived on time into Stockholm and got in a car for the 3.5 hour journey to the little town of Karlstad. By the time I got there, I had time to relax for a bit and grab a snack and then head to the warm up track. Street meets are always fun because it's centered around one or two events and the crowd tends to get into it more than at a regular meet. In Karlstad, they bring a few truckloads of dirt into the city square and set up a sector, surrounded by barriers and bleachers. A concrete throwing circle is also brought in, completing the field. I spent extra time warming up because after all this travel, my body is starting to break down and I don't want to get injured. Our ride from the warm up track to the competition site was a little, goofy street train! It was quite a sight to see a dozen or so big guys cramme dinto little train cars. People would just stop and stare as we drove by. It was hilarious. There were several of my friends throwing here as well. Kim Christensen, a Danish shot putter, Leif and Niklas Arrhenius, Swedish throwers, and Dan Taylor, another American shot putter. It's always more fun to throw with guys you know. In the Czech Republic, I was throwing against a bunch of Eastern Block guys and, with a few exceptions, they aren't that friendly. I only threw 19.06m (62' 6") and got 4th place. Dan won at 19.83m (65'). I'm super disappointed but I was so tired, it was hard to take all six throws. I'm going to get a good dinner, some good sleep, and try it again tomorrow!