Winger sets season-best javelin mark to win continental crown

Kara Winger’s march toward retirement hit another highlight Sunday. The Skyview High School graduate thew a season-best mark of 64.68 meters to win the javelin at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships in the Bahamas.

Winger’s mark, which came on the second her six attempts, was nearly five meters farther than runner up Ariana Ince of the United States.

Winger’s final competitive track and field season has already been a resounding success. She won her ninth U.S. championship on June 25 with a previous season-best mark of 64.26 meters.

Winger, 36, followed that up in July with a silver medal at the World Championships. That secured the four-time Olympian’s first medal in a major worldwide competition.

Since that highlight in Eugene, Winger earned a pair of fourth-place finishes at Diamond League meets in Poland and Monaco.

Her win Sunday is her second NACAC championship, having won in Costa Rica in 2015.

Winger is currently ranked No. 3 in the world.

Columbia River High School and Clark College graduate Daniel Nehnevaj also competed in the Bahamas, placing fifth in the 20,000 meter racewalk. Nehnevaj placed second in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021 and finished 43rd at the World Championships in July.