Four shot put champions who competed in the Kansas Relays Downtown Shot Put event in April finished in the top six of the Samsung Diamond League series which concluded last month in Brussels. The Samsung Diamond League is an annual series of track and field meetings that pit the world's top athletes against one another for a points race that lasts over 14 events.

Dylan Armstrong, who won the Downtown Shot Put competition last spring, took home the coveted Diamond League crown with a total of 17 points earned during the 14-week series. The Canadian has had an outstanding season in 2011. In addition to winning the Kansas Relays shot put event in Lawrence, he has won five different titles in international competition, has notched a career-best throw of 22.21 meters (72-10.50 ft.), a Canadian national record. He was also the runner-up at the World Championships in September.

Other downtown throwers who made the top six of the Diamond League standings included Reese Hoffa, who finished second in the summer series, just one point behind the winner, Armstrong. The U.S.'s Hoffa finished second in the 2011 Downtown event as well.

Finishing right behind Hoffa in third place in the Diamond League series was another American, Christian Cantwell, who collected 11 points over the 14 events. While Cantwell didn't compete in the Downtown shot put due to injury, he was on hand to lend support and commentary for those participating. Cantwell, who attended college at Missouri, won two events in the Diamond league and had a season's best throw of 22.07 meters (72-04.50 ft.). He also finished fourth at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in September.

Finishing in a tie for fourth in the Diamond League series was American Ryan Whiting with five points. Whiting took fifth at the Downtown event.

The Samsung Diamond League is composed of 14 of the best invitational track and field meetings in the world. The meetings are spread across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the USA, and compose the top tier of the IAAF's global one-day meeting competition structure.

This series of 14 meetings, which began in 2010, showcase 32 event disciplines which are carefully distributed amongst the meetings. In each of the 32 event disciplines there is a "Diamond Race" with points available throughout the 14-meet season. Winners of each Diamond Race receive a 40,000 USD cash prize as well as a spectacular diamond trophy,but more importantly, they will have shown season-long consistency to earn the unchallenged honor of being Number 1 in the world. 

Check out kuathletics.com for information and updates on the 2012 KU Relays, set to take place on April 18-21, 2012.