WCH Tokyo 25 brushstroke (© World Athletics)
Last three sets of World Athletics Championships medallists
2023: 1 Laulauga Tausaga (USA) 69.49m, 2 Valarie Allman (USA) 69.23m, 3 Feng Bin (CHN) 68.20m
2022: 1 Feng Bin (CHN) 69.12m, 2 Sandra Perković (CRO) 68.45m, 3 Valarie Allman (USA) 68.30m
2019: 1 Yaimé Pérez (CUB) 69.17m, 2 Denia Caballero (CUB) 68.44m, 3 Sandra Perković (CRO) 66.72m
Last two sets of Olympic medallists
2024: 1 Valarie Allman (USA) 69.50m, 2 Feng Bin (CHN) 67.51m, 3 Sandra Elkasević (CRO) 67.51m
2020: 1 Valarie Allman (USA) 68.98m, 2 Kristin Pudenz (GER) 66.86m, 3 Yaime Perez (CUB) 65.72m
Longest winning throws in World Athletics Championships history
71.62m – Martina Hellmann (GDR/GER), 1987
71.02m – Tsvetanka Khristova (BUL), 1991
70.31m – Sandra Perković (CRO), 2017
Shortest winning throw in World Athletics Championships history
65.44m – Dani Samuels (AUS), 2009
Best marks on Japanese soil
71.02m – 1 Tsvetanka Khristova (BUL) Tokyo (World Championships) 31.08.1991
70.40m – 1 Galina Savinkova (URS/RUS) Tokyo 21.09.1985
69.22m – 1 Ilke Wyludda (GDR/GER) Tokyo 16.09.1989
Best marks on Asian soil
72.30m – 1 Martina Hellmann (GDR/GER) Seoul 29.09.1988
71.88m – 2 Diana Gansky (GDR/GER) Seoul 29.09.1988
71.68m – 1 Yanling Xiao (CHN) Beijing 14.03.1992
Biggest winning margins
2.71m – 2007: Franka Dietzsch (GER) 66.61m / Yarelis Barrios (CUB) 63.90m
2.23m – 2005: Franka Dietzsch (GER) 66.56m / Natalya Sadova (RUS) 64.33m
2.09m – 1999: Franka Dietzsch (GER) 68.14m / Anastasía Kelesídou (GRE) 66.05m
Smallest winning margins
0.13m – 2009: Dani Samuels (AUS) 65.44m / Yarelis Barrios (CUB) 65.31m
0.18m – 2003: Iryna Yatchenko (BLR) 67.32m / Anastasía Kelesídou (GRE) 67.14m
0.26m – 2023: Laulauga Tausaga (USA) 69.49m / Valarie Allman (USA) 69.23m
Best mark by round
• Qualification - 69.67m Sandra Perković (CRO) 2017
• Final - 71.62m Martina Hellmann (GDR/GER) 1987
Multiple winners
1983/87 - Martina Opitz/Hellmann (GDR/GER)
1995/01 - Ellina Zvereva (BLR)
1999/05/07 - Franka Dietzsch (GER)
2013/17 - Sandra Perković (CRO)
Winners by country
3 - Belarus
3 - Germany
2 - German Democratic Republic
2 - China
2 - Cuba
2 - Croatia
1 - Bulgaria
1 - Russia
1 - New Zealand
1 - Australia
1 - United States
Five historic facts
• Only three editions of the World Championships have produced 70 metre-plus winning throws: Martina Hellmann (GDR) with 71.62m in 1987; Tsvetanka Khristova (BUL) with 71.02m in 1991; and Sandra Perković (CRO) with 70.31m in 2017
• Beatrice Faumina (NZL) had the distinction of becoming New Zealand’s first ever world champion in 1997 with victory in the discus with 66.82m
• Ellina Zvereva (BLR) remains the oldest gold medallist in World Championships history after winning discus gold in 2001 at 40y/268d
• Melina Robert-Michon (FRA) will be competing in her 11th World Championships to equal the women’s record of most World Championships appearances alongside Portuguese race walkers Susanna Feitor and Ines Henriques.
• Laulauga Tausaga (USA) became the first US woman to win the world discus title in 2023
Potential storylines
• Can two-time Olympic champion Valarie Allman (USA) win her first world title?
• Can the United States replicate, or even better, their 1-2 in the discus from 2023? US athletes occupy the top four spots on the entry list based on season’s bests
• Will there be a 70-metre-plus winning throw at the World Championships for just the second time this century?
• Can Sandra Elkasević extend her record for most medals (5) won in the event?
• In her 11th World Championships, can Melina Robert-Michon (FRA) extend her record as the oldest female finalist in World Championships history? Robert-Michon reached the final in 2023 at 44y/35d. Will this be her last championships? "I do not know. Everybody keeps asking me but I do not have any answer for this. I said London was my last Olympic Games, but it did not happen. So now, I do not know," she said.
• Can Jorinde Van Klinken (NED) win the Netherlands' first ever medal in this event at the World Championships? She has finished fourth at the last two editions
• The automatic qualifying distance for the final is 64.00m
