Ronnie Buckley topped off a superb series of throws to land the 1.5kg discus out at 64.34 metres to claim the World Youth title and a Championships record in a see-saw competition.
The first-round lead was taken by Chinese Taipei’s Wang Yao-Hui, with a throw that landed spot on the 60-metre line.
In the second round, China’s Wu Jian took the lead with a 62.48 throw just after Lajos Kurthy, the pre-championships world leader from Hungary, had moved himself into third with his 58.82 effort.
The positions remained the same to the halfway point in the competition, with Buckley then placed only fourth.
But things then started to get better for the Australian: in round four, he moved into second with 60.55; he took the lead in round five with 63.08; and in the final round, Buckley surpassed that and the previous championship best of 64.14 when he threw 64.34.
It was as well that he did, since Wu also raised his game in the final round, claiming a new personal best of 63.18 and the silver medal ahead of Wang, whose first-round throw remained good enough for bronze.
Between them, Buckley and Wu had claimed four of the top five throws in their age group this season in a tremendous afternoon’s sport.
