Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands became the first European athlete in a decade to win the women’s world shot put title– and the first ever from her country – with a last round effort of 20.29m that tipped the final on its head.
Up until that point at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 on Saturday (20), it looked as if victory was destined for New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche, who had led with a first-round throw of 20.06m to equal her personal best, and who also held the second-best throw of 19.90m after five of the six rounds.
At last year’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a fifth-round effort of 19.86m in rainswept conditions looked likely to bring Wesche Olympic gold, only for Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye to claim the title with a final throw of 20.00m.
On a damp rather than rainy night in the Japan National Stadium, the New Zealander experienced the same emotions after fouling with the last throw of the competition.
But she still clinched a bronze medal to go with her Olympic silver – with silver this time going to the US athlete seeking a third consecutive world title, 31-year-old Chase Jackson.
The defending champion, eager to put the memory of her failure to qualify for the Paris Olympic final behind her, had arrived in Tokyo with a season-topping national record of 20.95m to her credit.
Having qualified second with a first-time effort of 19.31m earlier in the day, she struggled to reach her best form for five rounds before following Schilder’s final effort with a throw of 20.21m that moved her into silver-medal position.
Like Jackson, Schilder had been a picture of frustration until the final round of this competition, although a fourth-round throw of 19.51m had moved her up to fourth place.
That final inspired effort, accompanied by a huge roar, rounded off a hugely successful season for the 2022 and 2024 European champion.
She began by winning European indoor gold in her home venue of Apeldoorn and then claimed world indoor silver in Nanjing before moving into an outdoor season which saw her win the Diamond League Final in Zurich following the belated disqualification of Canada’s Sarah Mitton.
The 26-year-old from Volendam thus added world gold to the bronze she won at the 2022 edition – an achievement that soon saw her in tears as she embraced the US thrower who had finished just eight centimetres shy of the gold medal-winning mark.
“I still cannot believe it has happened. Not because I was not prepared, but I became ill last week,” said Schilder. “I had a fever for three days. That is why my confidence was lower and I didn’t think it was possible anymore to get a medal here.
“But my coach said that nothing is impossible, and I believed him 100%. Even after not such a good start to the final, I said that I’m going to try until the end. And it worked.”
Jackson said: “I was crying but those were tears of joy. Certain medals just mean a lot, and this one means a lot. That’s how hard it was for me to grab it.”
Wesche said: “Women’s shot put is very competitive at the moment. It’s the craziest competition I’ve ever been part of and those are the moments you live for as an athlete.”
Mitton, who had been firmly established in silver-medal position until the last round, saw her place on the podium disappear as her response to the late efforts of Schilder and Jackson could not better her third-round best of 19.81m.
Sweden’s Fanny Roos finished fifth with a final round effort of 19.54m and Germany’s Olympic champion Ogunleye, who had topped qualifying with a single effort of 19.65m, placed sixth on 19.33m.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics