Report14 Sep 2014


Report: women's shot – IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014

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Christina Schwanitz wins the shot at the IAAF Continental Cup, Marrakech 2014 (© Getty Images)

With a late injury knocking defending champion Valerie Adams out to the sidelines, the role of favourite fell easily into the lap of European champion Christina Schwanitz, and she played it perfectly.

The 28-year-old German opened with 19.94m, improved to 20.02m in the second round and was nearly as good in the third, reaching 19.92m.

Each effort was better than the best Michelle Carter produced, a 19.84m toss in the second round which left her second. The US record-holder was also fairly consistent, backing up her top mark with a 19.74m in round three.

“I’m very satisfied because I didn’t expect to throw over 20 metres again after a week,” said Schwanitz, who has a season’s best of 20.22m to her credit. 

Next up for the German champion is a brief holiday in Spain and then, like her compatriot and men’s counterpart David Storl, she will undergo knee surgery. “We’ll see how it goes and will then see if I’ll be ready to compete indoors next year.”

China’s Gong Lijiao was the only other woman to crack through the 19-metre line, reaching 19.23m for third and to garner six points for Asia-Pacific.

The big news came before the event even started with Adams’ withdrawal due to an injury, the three-time world champion pulling out after a forelorn attempt at warming up.

“Valerie came to the Continental Cup with a bad elbow," read a statement from the Asia-Pacific team. "She had arranged with the IAAF medical department to have an injection on the day of her event, so as to be able to compete.

“However, after the injection by a local doctor, she had no feeling in her arm, and was therefore unable to hold the shot.

“Valerie is devastated not to be able to compete, and hopes all her loyal fans will understand why she had to take this decision today.”

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

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