Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd had to settle for fifth in the women’s shot put final, as American Chase Ealy successfully defended her title at the World Athletic Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday.
Ealy topped the event with a season’s best 20.43m, ahead of China’s Olympic champion Lijao Gong (19.69m), who retained her silver medal from last year –her eight medal at successive World Championships –and Canada’s Sarah Mitton, whose season best 20.08m, earned her a first medal on this stage.
The 30-year-old Thomas-Dodd, who copped silver in Doha in 2019, had a best mark of 19.59m on her third-round effort.
Following her strong recovery performance in qualifying, much was expected of Thomas-Dodd, but the manner in which the event started, indicated that she would require something special to medal.
Healy laid the marker with a season’s best first round effort of 20.35m. At that point, Thomas-Dodd was in third position with an opening throw of 19.38m, while the other American Maggie Ewen was second at 19.51m.
As the competition progressed, Mitton made a big move with a season’s best 19.90m on her third attempt to assume the silver medal position, with Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo joining the party with 19.63m and Thomas-Dodd improving to 19.59m.
However, when things got to the business end, it was the three medallists that produced when it matters most, as Ealy and Mitton, both launched the instruments to their new season’s best, while Gong left it late with her medal-winning mark.
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