The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 3 letter word SHOT PUT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
H
O
T
P
U
T
More clues leading to the result SHOT PUT
- Attempt place in event
- Yell, welcoming leaders in the premier Olympic event
- Try getting place in athletic 23
- Filmed place for athletics event
- Took bung for throwing match
- Photograph place for event
- Still place for Olympic event
- Try to get place in athletics event
- Opt out in closed event
- Snap over fixed athletics event
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "athletic 23" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case athletic 23 = shot put.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.