Christin HUSSONG (GER) during the Girls Javelin qualification during day one of the WYC Lille 2011 (© Getty Images)
The outstanding favourite to win the Girls’ Javelin Throw final here in Lille after setting a new World Youth leading 56.76 in her opening effort to automatically qualify yesterday, Christin Hussong put together the best series of her young career in tonight’s final, a competition in which she threw no fewer than three times over 57 metres!
The German warmed up with an opening 56.54, an effort which would have sufficed for gold today and in four of the six previous editions of this competition, to take a lead she was obviously never going to relinquish.
While she did not further improve until the third round cut, the fight for minor medals was in full flow with Australia’s Monique Cilione reaching 52.21 for second in the opening round only to see Sweden’s Sofi Flinck overtake her with 52.25 the second time around. USA’s Haley Crouser was also in the mix with her own second-round 51.97 in fourth.
In fact there would be only one other athlete breaking 50 metres and that was Ismaray Armentero of Cuba whose 50.21 would eventually see her fifth in the final standings.
With the order reversed, Frances’ Alexie Alaïs who set a new French youth record in qualifying yesterday was the first one to improve and leapfrog into sixth at 49.33, still well off her 53.54 effort from the previous day.
Flinck consolidated her silver medal position with her best of today at 54.62 just before Hussong’s festival was about to start. She improved her World Youth Best once to 57.84 in the fourth round, twice to 58.09 before her third and final World best of 59.74 also a Championship record by almost 3 metres!
Cilione also saved her best effort for last but her 52.77 personal best was only good enough to consolidate her bronze medal position.
It was Germany’s second javelin title in the history of the event after Olivia Norris won the opening edition back in 1999; Steffi Nerius and Christine Obergföll may have now found their successor…for the record, former European record holder Obergföll was a 50.57 thrower aged 18!
"I did a great competition," Hussong said after her final. "At the first attempt I just wanted to do a good throw to show the other athletes that I was in form. I didn't expect to beat the Championships Record. It was a little bit closed to the Swedish girl. Fortunately I already had the international experience from Singapore. It's amazing, to win here in this stadium and to hear the national anthem. I would really like to thank my dad who is also my coach. In general we are an athletic family, my sister was national champion in heptathlon."