Kara Estelle Winger (née Patterson; born April 10, 1986) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the javelin throw. She is the American record holder in the javelin throw with a distance of 68.11 m (223 ft 5+1⁄4 in).
At the 2008 Olympic Trials, Winger won with a distance of 53.93 m. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Winger didn't make it past the qualifying round and finished 41st overall with a distance of 54.39 m.[3]
At the 2012 Olympic Trials, Winger earned second place with a distance of 59.79 m. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she finished 31st in the qualifying round, not reaching the final.
At the 2013 World Trials, Winger earned third place with a distance of 55.88 m.
At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Winger carried the flag of the United States of America at the closing ceremonies.
At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Winger won a silver medal, which made her the first American woman to win a medal in javelin at any World Athletics Championships.[6]
Winger (still Kara Patterson at the time) earned her first invitation to the world championships in 2009, while still at Purdue. Her path to the invitation was "rocky". She fouled on her initial attempt, then threw only 48.88 m on a second attempt. Her third throw went 52.02 m qualifying her as seventh out of eight to make the finals. She fouled again during the finals, but then beat the rest of the field by more than 4 m (13 ft).[7] Her throw of 63.95 m was a career-best and 0.24 m shy of the national record. She was unable to perform that well in Berlin. Her best throw in Berlin was 52.71 m earning her 28th place.[8]
Winger entered the USA track and Field championships held in Eugene, Oregon in 2011. She recorded 194.67 ft (59.34 m) to beat her nearest competitor by 14 ft (4.3 m). This throw guaranteed her entry into the 2011 world championships held in South Korea in August. Her best throw in the world championships was 57.1 point meters earned her 20th in the qualifying event but was not good enough to reach the finals (top 12).[9]
In 2012, Winger suffered an ACL injury. She returned to competition in 2013, but was unable to qualify for the 2013 World Championships held in Moscow.[10]
In 2015, Winger earned an invitation to the World Championships in Athletics held in Beijing. All 32 qualifiers compete in the initial qualification event, with the top 12 going on to the finals round. Winger's throw of 62.21 m placed her 12 only 0.04 m ahead of the 13th position. In the finals round, her best throw was 60.88 m good enough for eighth place in the competition.[11]
Winger earned an invitation to the 2017 World Championships held in London. In the qualifying round, she threw 61.27 m, good enough for 15th place in the qualifying round but did not make the finals which are limited to the top 12 in the qualifying rounds.[12]
Winger qualified for the 2019 world championships held in Doha, Quatar.[13] In the qualifying round she finished seventh with a throw of 62.13 m, ensuring that she would move on to the finals which are limited to the top 12 in the qualifying round. In the finals she improved both her position and her distance with a throw of 63.23 m, moving her into for the overall position. The fifth place finish is the best ever by an American in this event. Over the years Winger has persevered through "multiple setbacks, including a left shoulder surgery, serious back injuries, and multiple ACL tears".[14][15][16][17][18]
The world championships have been a biennial event since 1991, so they were originally scheduled for 2021, but were delayed a year due to Covid 19. Winger, now 36, announced she would be retiring after this season making this year's World Championships her last major international event in her career.[19][20] Winger is very familiar with Hayward Field, the track and field stadium on the campus of the University of Oregon, which was the location of the 2022 World Championships. She qualified for four Olympic games In this stadium, and only a month earlier, earned her qualification to the world event with her final throw in Hayward.[20] In the qualifier round, Winger threw 61.3 m which earned her fourth-place. On the one hand, it was her best ever qualifying round position, on the other hand she was 2.5 m behind third-place. The fourth-place finish qualified for participation in the final round. Her first four throws in the final round were short of her qualifying round distance. Her fifth throw was 62.17 m which was her best throw of the day but that distance would only be good enough for sixth place. However, her final throw of the day, and very possibly the final throw of her international career, went 64.05 m, good enough to earn the silver medal. This is not only her first silver medal at the world championships, it's the only medal earned by an American in this event ever.[14][21]
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