Sibling ‘Shot Kings’ win national titles in Illinois

Amaya King, 9, continues to dominate, and her brother Alex, 11, wins his first title.

Springfield residents Amaya King (left) and her brother, Alex, each won national titles at the 2010 AAU Northern Indoor National Championships in the shot put in February. Contributed photo

Submitted Springfield residents Amaya King (left) and her brother, Alex, each won national titles at the 2010 AAU Northern Indoor National Championships in the shot put in February. Contributed photo

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By Michael Cooper, Staff Writer 10:34 PM Wednesday, March 17, 2010

SPRINGFIELD — They’ve dubbed themselves the “Shot Kings.”

With both Alex and Amaya King winning national championships in the shot put, the name has a nice ring to it.

The brother-sister combination from the Springfield Track Club each won national titles at the 2010 AAU Northern Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 19-21 on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.

Amaya, 9, won her third national title and first indoor title with a personal-best toss of 27 feet. She beat her competition by 4.5 feet. Alex, 11, smashed the indoor national record in his age group with a toss of 35 feet, 2 inches to win his first national title. He beat his opponents by nearly 7 feet.

The duo’s mother, Andrea King, said they practiced in knee-high snow in their backyard to prepare for the competition. They each throw 6-pound shots.

“We got that huge dump of snow and didn’t have any place to practice, so we practiced in the backyard,” King said. “It gets cold, so we were out for a few minutes a couple days.”

King said it was a great weekend watching both children win national titles.

“I’m such a proud coach and mom,” King said. “It’s challenging and rewarding when they put it together.”

The Springfield Track Club is looking for new members. Sign-ups will be held at Hayward Middle School on April 12 at 5:30 p.m. For more information, contact King at (937) 926-0997 or Tony Moss at (937) 450-3674.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0365 or mcooper@coxohio.com.

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