With no Greek World champion Mirela Manjani to spoil the party for the rest of the world’s spear throwing elite, it was left to Russia’s Tatyana Shikolenko who took the World silver in Paris to strike home surely with a 64.47m release in round two which sealed the competition.
Six competitors threw over 60 metres today, which in the era of the new spear has become the bench mark standard of top international throwing.
Germany’s Steffi Nerius who was the Paris World bronze medallist produced a mighty 64.25m throw with her's and the competition's opening effort. Shikolenko throwing next produced 63.53m in response.
Laverne Eve the Commonwealth champion performing third, the last of the eight athletes, completed the first round’s 60m marks with 62.10m.
Nerius who was to produce a very even series of four 63m plus efforts (64.25, 63.24, 63.10, 63.00) went down by over a metre with her second round effort but it was still impressive at 63.24m.
It was then that the Russian both felt the moment and caught the spear right, producing a powerful 64.47m blast which was to be good enough for first place and the US$30,000 prize.
Round two was also when Hungary’s Nikolett Szabo produced her best of 62.88m, all the better for being her season’s furthest throw.
With Nerius throwing 63.10 and then 63.00 in the last two rounds respectively, the only other 61m plus shouts of the day came in the last round when Shikolenko threw 61.48, and Mikaela Ingberg of Finland, who was fourth in Paris, secured fifth place with 61.29m.
IAAF - ct
