{{Short description|Jamaican shot putter}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Kobe Lawrence | fullname = | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|2004|2|12|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | residence = | nationality = | spouse = | sport = Athletics | event = Shot put | club = | worlds = | nationals = | headercolor = | pb = '''Shot put:''' 20.50 m (2026) <!-- Medal record --> | show-medals = | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport | Men's athletics}} {{MedalCountry | {{flagu|JAM}} }} {{MedalCompetition|World U20 Championships}} {{MedalSilver|2022 Cali |Shot put}} }} '''Kobe Lawrence''' (born 12 February 2004) is a Jamaican shot putter. He set a Jamaican indoor national record of 20.50 metres in placing second at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships. He was previously a silver medalists at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships.<ref> {{cite web |url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/jamaica/kobe-lawrence-14875344|title= Kobe Lawrence |accessdate=1 April 2026|website=World Athletics}}</ref>
==Biography== Lawrence attended Calabar High School in Jamaica.<ref>{{cite web|website=Jamaica Star|accessdate=1 April 2026|url= https://jamaica-star.com/article/sports/20220408/champs-2022-lawrence-boys-class-one-shot-put-final|title= Champs 2022 - Lawrence into Boys Class One Shot Put final|date= April 8, 2022}}</ref> He placed eighth in the shot put at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=1 April 2026|website=worldathletics.org|url= https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7136587?eventId=10229813S|date=18 August 2021|title=World Athletics U20 Championships}}</ref> The following year, Lawrence won the silver medal at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, becoming the first Jamaican to win a global medal in the discipline. He also reached the final of the discus throw at the championships, placing tenth overall.<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=1 April 2026|website=worldathletics.org|url= https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7163112?eventId=10229686|title=World Athletics U20 Championships|date=6 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://jamaica-star.com/article/sports/20230120/coach-robinson-confident-about-shot-putter-lawrence|title= Coach Robinson confident about shot putter Lawrence|first=Raymond|last=Graham |website=Jamaica Star|accessdate=1 April 2026|date=January 20, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20220806/kobe-lawrence-follows-history-making-shot-discus-final-today|website=Jamaica Gleaner|title= Kobe Lawrence follows history-making shot with discus final today|date=6 August 2022|accessdate=1 April 2026}}</ref>
In June 2024, Lawrence placed second to Rajindra Campbell at the Jamaican Athletics Championships in Kingston with a throw of 19.58 metres.<ref>{{Cite web | url= https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7211616?eventId=10229619 |title=Jamaican Championships|date=28 June 2024 |access-date=29 March 2026| website=World Athletics}}</ref> Lawrence set a personal best of 20.32 metres in placing fourth for the University of Oregon at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kobe Lawrence takes fourth in NCAA men’s shot put |website=Jamaica Observer|accessdate=1 April 2026|date=12 June 2025|url= https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025/06/12/kobe-lawrence-takes-fourth-ncaa-mens-shot-put/ }}</ref> The mark surpassed his previous best of 20.07 metres, which had stood since Lawrence competed at the 2024 Oregon Twilight meeting, the year he stayed working with coach Brian Blutreich. It also set a new Oregon school record, surpassing the previous best set by Neal Steinhauer in 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://dailyemerald.com/167168/sports/kobe-lawrence-nations-fourth-best-in-shot-put/ |website=dailyemerald.com|title= Kobe Lawrence nation's fourth-best in shot put|date= 12 Jun 2025|accessdate=1 April 2026}}</ref>
Lawrence set a new personal best and University of Oregon record of 19.81 metres in Kansas in January 2026.<ref>{{cite web|first=Paul A.|last=Reid|date=16 Jan 2026|url= https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/01/16/kobe-lawrence-improves-oregon-shot-put-record/#google_vignette|title= Kobe Lawrence improves on his Oregon shot put record|website=Jamaica Observer|accessdate=1 April 2026}}</ref> Competing for the University of Oregon, he set a Jamaican indoor national record of 20.50 metres in placing second at the 2026 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, bettering the Ashinia Miller effort of 20.48m set indoors in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2026/03/14/jamaicas-taylor-marshall-go-1-2-800m-ncaa-indoor-championships/#google_vignette|title= Jamaica’s Taylor and Marshall go 1-2 in 800m at NCAA Indoor Championships |website=Jamaica Observer|accessdate=15 March 2026|date=14 March 2026}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Kobe}} Category:2004 births Category:Living people Category:Jamaican men shot putters Category:21st-century Jamaican sportsmen Category:Athletes from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes