From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Josh Awotunde, a 2013 Delsea graduate, throws Sunday in the World Championships at the Kujawsko Pomorska Arena.in Torun, Poland., about 25 miles east of Bydgoszcz.

This will be Awotunde’s 5^th  trip to Worlds. In 2022 indoor Worlds in Belgrade, Serbia, he placed 5^th with a throw of 71-2 ¼ and then outdoors that spring in Eugene he placed 3^rd with a 73-1 ½. In 2023 in Budapest, Hungary, he placed 11^th at 65-6 ½. Then last year outdoors in Tokyo he placed 7^th in the final with a 69-4 ¼.

Awotunde qualified this year by placing 3^rd at the U.S. Championships at Ocean Breeeze earlier this month with a 69-1.

Awotunde ranks 12^th in the world this year with his season-best 69-1. He threw his PR 73-8 ½ when he won the 2025 U.S. Championship at Oregon’s Hayward Field. That’s No. 17 in world history and No. 10 in U.S. history.

The shot put at Worlds is scheduled for 11:23 a.m. Central European Time, which is 6:23 a.m. here.