Nike Elite Stories: Reese Hoffa

By STEPHEN MAZZONE

All photos by Vic Sailer, PhotoRun.net

 

Editor's Note:  In addition to the video interviews, Reese Hoffa kicks off a series of stories on Elite Nike athletes as we get closer to the Nike Track Nationals.


Reese Hoffa sensed something was wrong just before the shot put was released from his hand.


I was coming through really hard,” he said. “My foot got caught in the toe board, it twisted and I heard a pop.”


Hoffa, one of the world’s best with the metal ball, heard the pop on his fifth throw at the Pedro’s Cup, an indoor track and field competition in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Feb. 11. He still managed to uncork his final throw in the meet and came just short of his eventual second-place distance of 20.97 meters (68.80 feet).


But the injured ankle he suffered a few months ago, still isn’t feeling the same. It’s still not 100 percent.


It’s going OK,” he said. “But I feel a little down in terms of where I want to be in the outdoor season.”


The 32-year-old Hoffa, a two-time world champion and one of the top American shot-putters over the last decade, is not concerned about the injury. The healing process has been going fine and he’s still able to compete at an elite level.


Just last month, he had a solid effort of 21.14 meters (69.36 feet) to win the individual prize at the Bulldog Limited, held at his alma mater, the University of Georgia. He also recently finished third (21.00 meters, 69.89 feet) in an international competition in Doha, Saudi Arabia on May 14.


The concern (or rather, the goal) for Hoffa as he continues to enter the circle, is to regain the touch he had during a splendid two-year stretch from 2006-07 when he claimed both his world titles and surpassed the magical 70-foot mark nearly 20 times and had his all-time best of 73-7 ¼, an effort he achieved while winning the 2007 London Grand Prix.


I just got into a groove,” he recalled. “Everything I threw seemed to explode out of my hands. It hasn’t felt the same since.”


Don’t mention age as being a factor for his slight decline. Hoffa, who stands at 5-foot-11 and weighs over 300 pounds, believes his best years are still ahead of him. If you want proof, he points out fellow U.S. shot-putters John Godina and Adam Nelson as prime examples.


Godina, a two-time Olympic medalist and three-time world champion, was still very much competitive until announcing his retirement last year at age 36. Nelson, also a two-time Olympic medalist and a former world champion, will be 35 in July and is coming into this year after a No. 3 ranking worldwide in 2009.


I still think I have some big throws in me,” Hoffa said. “John Godina, at 36, he showed he could still do it. Adam, I practice with him every day. I have seen him do incredible things with the ball. These guys (are) older than me and have shown they could still throw (over 70 feet).”


Hoffa, a 2001 graduate of Georgia, has earned his share of accolades since finishing fifth at the National Scholastic Championships as a high school senior at Lakeside High in Ga. He’s made the past two Olympic teams and was seventh at the Summer Games in 2008.


Hoffa has also performed at his best on the global stage where he earned gold medals at the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow and the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka. It was during this time that he was ranked No. 3 in the world for two consecutive years.


What have been the highlights so far?


Winning my first world championship was definitely one of those moments. I nearly cried after I won. I trained so hard and I did it,” he said. “Of course winning outdoor, too.”


Hoffa lists his performance this past Olympics in Beijing as one of those moments he wishes he could replay. He entered the Games after winning the U.S. Olympic Trials with a toss of 72-6 ¼ less than two months earlier.


In Beijing, he was nearly five feet under that effort at 67-8 ¾.


I was very disappointed with my performance,” Hoffa said. “I felt going in I was ready to do big things. I felt good in the qualifying rounds. The finals, I just didn’t have that pop.”


It’s a pop that he didn’t feel he had too much of during his 2009 campaign.


He won a handful of competitions, including a victory at the Nike Prefontaine Classic on June 7 where he had his season-best of 71-10.


But it wasn’t quite the same.


I just didn’t produce in 2009,” he said. “I lost my rhythm and timing.”

 

With the outdoor season in its early stages, Hoffa is looking forward to regaining that touch again. The Bulldog Limited last month was a good start.


I thought it went really well,” he said. “Most of my throws were 68 feet and one was 69. Basically I did it to see how my technique was holding up. For what it was it, it went very well. It served its purpose.”


Hoffa has the U.S. Track & Field Championships on June 26 circled on his calendar as well as a number of international meets over the next several months. Consistency is what he’s looking for as he continues to shoot for a third trip to the Olympics in 2012.


If I can finish up the year throwing high 69s to 70 feet the entire year, I would be exceptionally happy. If I can do that, it would be great,” he said. “Right now, I have thrown 69 feet 69 times. I would like to reach 80.


Right now, John Godina’s at 88. I would like to get close to him. Of course, for my overall career, I would like to get 69 feet 100 times. That would be a solid career.”


Hoffa, who also has his eyes on the 2011 World Championships in South Korea, will never forget winning his world crowns.


Olympic gold in London, however, might move them down a notch on his list.


The (two world titles) were probably my two biggest accomplishments,” he said. “But, of course, winning a gold medal would surpass that. Right now, I am just taking it day by day.”