Christian Cantwelll, a seven-year volunteer assistant for the Mizzou track and field staff and Tigers alumni, finished in the top 12 of the shot put qualifying round at the Summer Olympics in London on Friday.
With a throw of 20.41 meters, Cantwell achieved the "predetermined distance" set by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Technical Delegates, and he finished ninth out of 39 other shot putters Friday morning.
Cantwell is one of three Americans to advance past the qualifying round. Reese Hoffa and Ryan Whiting will also compete in the finals, which is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Each competitor had three throws in the qualifying round, The finals consist of two more rounds, with each getting three more throws in the first round. The eight athletes with the longest distances will advance to the final round and get three additional throws.
The athlete with the longest throw in the last round will take home the gold medal. Cantwell won a silver medal in Beijing in 2008, the first medal for a former or current Tiger since 1992.
Read more on the Olympics at our StoryStream and the SBNation.com coverage.