He excelled at Bethlehem Catholic High School in track and field, winning PIAA titles in discus and shot put during his senior season.

Kovacs, in his second year as a professional, threw a season best of 20.82 meters (68–3.75 feet)[3] at Tucson Elite Meet on May 18, 2013, which ranked him 6th in the US.

[5] On June 25, 2014, Joe Kovacs won the 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at a special venue in front of the California State Capitol, with a personal best of 22.03 m (72 ft 3 in), the top throw in the world for 2014.

As a guest competitor at the UCLA hosted Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner Kersee Invitational on April 11, 2015, Kovacs improved his personal best (though not a stadium record) with a 22.35 m (73 ft 3+3⁄4 in)[6] to again take the early season world lead, by almost a full meter at the time.

After winning his second National Championship in June, Kovacs improved again, adding another 21 cm to throw 22.56 m (74 ft 0 in) at the Herculis meet in Monaco.

[9] On Oct 5, 2019, Kovacs won the gold medal at the Outdoor World Championships with a 22.91 meter Shot Put on his final throw of the event.