Nail biters

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Posted at August 16, 2008 08:49

The Beijing Olympics have been a real nail-biter this year, but the United States has proved a strong force in the pool, women’s all-around gymnastics, and women’s fencing to name a few. We’ve talked about some of the Missouri athletes that strived at the Trials to make the team and compete in Beijing—Patrick Stroupe and Leah Pierce, but one Missourian made it and claimed silver on Friday.

Christian Cantwell of Eldon, Missouri, finished second in shot put in Beijing with a distance of 21.09 meters in his sixth attempt. Coming in behind Tomasz Majewski of Poland, Christian missed the 2004 Sydney games by a disappointing hair.

Despite his initial disappointment in his performance, his demeanor quickly changed as he saw, through the technology of texting, the excited reception the news received in his hometown.

In an interveiw with KOMU at Columbia before the games began, his mother, Jackie Cantwell, expressed only one wish, "I want my son to win. And that’s that."

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Missouri Roots

Vast and varied, Missouri is home to people, places, events, and topics that make the state surprising and unique. This space, like our magazine, is a place for those things to be revealed, either by us or you. Feel free, come on in.

Rebecca French Smith has written for Missouri Life since 2005. She has been an editor with the magazine since 2006, appointed managing editor that year.

As a native Missourian with roots that run five generations deep in the Ozarks, Rebecca is passionate about Missouri. She is always looking for interesting places, people, and events to share with Missouri Life readers.

She lives in central Missouri with her husband, David, and their four boys.