Rutger Smith (born 9 July 1981) is a Dutch retired track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw. He is the first athlete to win medals at the World Championships in both events. He represented the Netherlands at the Summer Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012. His personal best of 21.62 m for the shot put is the Dutch national record.
In his first international competition, he won a shot put and discus double at the 1999 European Athletics Junior Championships. At the 2000 World Junior Championships he won medals in both events, and he also competed in both events at the 2004 Olympics. In 2005 he won silver medals in shot put at the European Indoor Championships and World Championships. Two years later he won the bronze medal in the discus at the 2007 World Championships and narrowly missed a shot put medal with a fourth-place finish.
A series of back problems affected his throwing after he competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he did not return to competition until April 2011.Dutch discus thrower Cadée hits 2011 world-lead, Smith returns . European Athletics (30 April 2011). Retrieved on 30 April 2011.
Since then he has competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and won a silver medal at the shot put in the 2012 European Championships. He also finished fourth in the men's discus at the same championships. This result was later upgraded to bronze after the disqualification of Zoltán Kővágó.
Achievements 1999European Junior ChampionshipsRiga, Latvia1stShot put18.27 m1stDiscus throw52.89 m2000World Junior ChampionshipsSantiago, Chile 1stShot put19.48 m 3rdDiscus throw58.70 m2001UniversiadeBeijing, China12thShot put18.17 m11thDiscus throw55.70 m2002European Indoor ChampionshipsVienna, Austria10th (q)Shot put19.60 mEuropean ChampionshipsMunich, Germany8thShot put19.73 m2003World Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom10th (q)Shot put19.59 mEuropean U23 ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland3rdShot put20.18 m1stDiscus throw59.90 mWorld ChampionshipsParis, France25th (q)Shot put19.02 m15th (q)Discus throw61.55 m2004World Indoor ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary14th (q)Shot put19.67Olympic GamesAthens, Greece13th (q)Shot put19.69 m17th (q)Discus throw61.11 m2005European Indoor ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain 2ndShot put20.79 mWorld ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland 2ndShot put21.29 m2006European ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden 3rdShot put20.90 m7thDiscus throw64.46 mWorld Athletics FinalStuttgart, Germany 3rdShot put20.74 m2007European Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom8th (q)Shot put19.19 mWorld ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan 3rdShot put21.13 m 3rdDiscus throw66.42 mWorld Athletics FinalStuttgart, Germany5thShot put20.01 m2008World Indoor ChampionshipsValencia, Spain4thShot put20.78 mOlympic GamesBeijing, China8thShot put20.41 m7thDiscus throw65.39 m2011World ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea16th (q)Discus throw62.12 m2012World Indoor ChampionshipsIstanbul, Turkey7thShot put20.30 mEuropean ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland2ndShot put20.55 m3rdDiscus throw64.02 mOlympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom14th (q)Shot put20.08 m16th (q)Discus throw63.09 m2016European ChampionshipsAmsterdam, Netherlands11thDiscus throw59.99 m
Personal bests
Shot put – 21.62 m (2006), NR Discus throw – 67.77 m (2011)
References
External links
Rutger Smith at Atletiek.nl (archived)