RAMONA, Oklahoma — Olympic champions, world outdoor champions, world indoor champions, and American record holders will converge on Throw Town at Millican Field in northern Oklahoma this weekend for the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze meet where they can take advantage of a purpose-built facility that offers friendly conditions and a welcoming atmosphere for excellence in the throwing events. It is the third meet on the 2026 USATF Tour.
Paris Olympic Games gold medalists Valarie Sion, Roje Stona, and Camryn Rogers top the bill in a lineup of stars across the four throwing disciplines scheduled to compete on Thursday-Sunday. Here's a look at some of the top athletes in each event:
Women's Discus (Thursday & Saturday)
Two-time Olympic champion Valarie Sion (née Allman) is very familiar with Ramona's potential after smashing her own American record here last year with a massive 73.52/241-2 that was the farthest throw in the world since 1989. Allman won Olympic gold at Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024, and she captured her first World Championships title at Tokyo last year. In her season debut two weeks ago, she won the USATF Winter Long Throws National Championship in Tucson with a 66.02/216-7.
Jorinde Van Klinken of the Netherlands, the silver medalist at Tokyo last fall, is also in the field and has a PB of 70.22/230-4 from 2021. Van Klinken was a three-time NCAA champion in the discus for Arizona State and Oregon and also won the indoor shot put crown in 2022. Germany's Marike Steinacker was fourth at Paris and eighth at Tokyo in 2021 and brings in a PB of 67.31/220-10. Other top Americans include last year's NCAA champion, Cierra Jackson, and Olympian Veronica Fraley, who won the 2024 NCAA title.
In Thursday's competition added intrigue will come from 2024 Olympian Jayden Ulrich, the third farthest thrower in U.S. history with a PB of 69.39/227-8, and ageless Melina Robert-Michon of France, a 46-year-old wonder who has 23 national titles to her credit, along with Olympic silver in 2016 and World Championships silver in 2013. Robert-Michon has competed at every Olympic Games since 2000 and has 11 World Championships trips on her résumé.
Men's Discus (Thursday & Sunday)
The biggest news in the discus last year was the huge world record throw by Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania, who hit 75.56/247-11 at Ramona on April 13 to add four feet to the previous world record that he set at Ramona in 2024. Alekna is sidelined this year due to injury, leaving the field wide open with plenty of worthy contenders. Jamaica's Roje Stona was somewhat of a surprise winner at the 2024 Olympics, nailing a then-PB of 70.00/229-8 in round four that pushed him past Alekna by three centimeters and atop the podium. Stona raised his PB to 70.17/230-2 at Ramona last summer.
Matt Denny of Australia was the bronze medalist at Paris and is the No. 2 all-time performer with a PB of 74.78/245-4 set in the same competition that Alekna set the world record last year. Three days before that historic competition, Denny out together a marvelous series that included a best of 74.25/243-5 that was the second farthest in history at that point. Another bronze medalist in the field is Alex Rose of Samoa, who was third at Tokyo last year and has a best of 71.48/234-6. 2022 world champion Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia finished just off the podium at Paris, ending up fourth, but he has already had some fun at Ramona this year, winning on March 29 with a world-leading 72.26/237-1. Ceh's PB of 72.36/237-5 ranks him sixth on the all-time world performer list.
The top American is Sam Mattis, who set his PB of 71.27/233-10 behind Alekna and Denny last year. That moved him to No. 2 on the all-time U.S. performer list, only five centimeters off the American record that was set in 1983 by Ben Plucknett. Mattis is a two-time Olympian who has made four World Championships appearances. Reigning USATF champion Reggie Jagers, who won the USATF Winter Long Throws title two weeks ago, is entered in the "lefty" competition on Thursday, while Marcus Gustaveson is slated to throw on Thursday in the open event. Gustaveson took over the No. 7 all-time U.S. performer slot last year with his PB throw of 70.63/231-8.
Women's Hammer (Friday)
For the past three years Canada's Camryn Rogers has been the queen of the hammer, and her torrid start to 2026 indicates she will be tough to dethrone. Rogers, who won three NCAA crowns for Cal, grabbed her first global championship gold at the 2023 World Championships and then followed up with Paris Olympic Games gold in 2024 and another world title last year at Tokyo. She won the Texas Relays last weekend with a big PB of 81.13/266-2 that made her the No. 2 all-time world performer. She will go up against last year's meet winner, Rachel Richeson, who set her PB of 78.80/258-6 to take that title and move to No. 6 on the world all-time performer list and No. 3 on the U.S. version. Richeson is coming off a victory at the USATF Winter Long Throws meet.
Men's Hammer (Friday)
Primarily an American affair this time around, Olympian and three-time World Championships team member Alex Young leads the entrants with a PB of 78.32/256-11. Among his challengers is Tyler Williams, a 78.30/256-11 performer who was fifth at the USATF Championships last year, and Kieran McKeag, who won twice at Ramona last year and has a PB of 76.45/250-10. Texas Tanner of Air Force Academy was fourth at the 2025 NCAA Championships and has a best of 75.83/248-9.
Women's Javelin (Friday)
Collegiate record holder Rhema Otabor of the Bahamas won the NCAA crown in 2023 and 2024 for Nebraska, setting the CR of 64.19/210-9 at Eugene for the second victory. Otabor was the 2023 Pan American Games silver medalist and an Olympian at Paris. Madison Wiltrout won the USATF Winter Long Throws title with a PB of 61.29/201-1 that moved her to No. 7 on the all-time U.S. performer list, and she was on Team USATF for last year's World Championships after finishing as runner-up at the USATF Championships. 2023 USATF champion Maddie Harris is another Nebraska product, and she was the bronze medalist behind Otabor at the 2023 Pan Am Games. Veteran international competitor Ariana Ince is the No. 4 all-time American performer with a PB of 64.38/211-3 set in 2022.
Men's Javelin (Friday)
Curtis Thompson became the first American man to medal in the javelin at the Olympics or World Championships since 2007 last year when he earned bronze at Tokyo. After becoming the No. 3 all-time American performer with an 87.76/287-11 to win the Texas Relays in March 2025, Thompson won his fifth USATF title and then launched an 86.67/284-4 on his first attempt in the final at the World Championships to secure his place on the podium. The only two men within striking distance on the tape measure are Donavon Banks, the fourth-place finisher at the USATF Championships last year who has thrown 82.90/272-0 in his career, and Iceland's Sindri Gudmundsson, who competed collegiately for Mississippi State and sports a PB of 82.55/270-10.
Women's Shot Put (Sunday)
Freshly minted World Indoor champion Chase Jackson holds American records indoors and outdoors and has two outdoor World Championships golds among her list of achievements. Jackson dominates the all-time U.S. list with nine of the top 10 throws ever, and she has a PB of 20.95/68-8.75 set last June. She increased her national indoor record to 20.44/67-0.75 to win the USATF Indoor Championships before claiming world gold in Poland last month. The No. 3 all-time American, Maggie Ewen, has a career best of 20.45/67-1.25 and has represented Team USATF at four World Championships and three World Indoors. 2021 Olympic Trials winner Jessica Ramsey is the seventh-best American ever at 20.12/66-0.25, and Van Klinken of the Netherlands is the top international contender with a best of 19.57/64-2.5.
Men's Shot Put (Saturday)
After claiming his first U.S. gold with a win at the USATF Indoor Championships on March 1, Roger Steen earned bronze at the World Indoor Championships to go with the silver he nabbed in 2025. Steen set his PB of 22.11/72-6.5 to finish second at the Pre Classic last year and he has a best this season of 22.07/72-5. His top challenger looks to be Mexico's Uziel Muñoz, who shocked even himself at Tokyo last fall to claim silver at the World Championships with a national record of 21.97/72-1 on his final throw. Jamaica's Rajindra Campbell is a left-hander who earned Olympic bronze at Paris in 2024 and boasts a PB of 22.31/73-2.5, and Italy's Nick Ponzio is a superb showman who entertains the crowd and has a lifetime best of 21.83/71-7.5.
The meet will be streamed on USATF.tv. Live results are available here.