Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton finishes 2nd at Stockholm Diamond League
Brooklyn, N.S., native falls 2 cm shy of American rival, winner Chase Jackson
Canadian shot put record holder Sarah Mitton scored a second-place finish at the Diamond League track and field event in Stockholm on Sunday.
The Brooklyn, N.S., native's best throw of 19.98 metres was just behind the winning distance of 20.00 by American rival, Chase Jackson.
"I think both of us with Sarah could have thrown further. It was a really good competition and it kind of showed what is coming up at the [Paris] Olympics [in August]," Jackson said.
Mitton, the women's world No. 2, placed second in Suzhou, China a month ago, third in Marrakech, Morocco on May 19 and fourth in Xiamen, China, to open Diamond League campaign.
In Sweden, Mitton discussed her goal of surpassing 20 metres but added there are positives coming within two centimetres.
"To be that close is good, given that it's still pretty early in the season," she was quoted as saying on the Diamond League website. "I am just looking forward to getting some more training in, to be able to be always kind of consistently over that line and looking forward to some other close battles with Chase.
"The last time I was in Stockholm I threw 19.90 so it's eight centimetres better. It's all about progress."
WATCH | Mitton takes 2nd in shot put at Stockholm:
Mitton admitted her expectations are higher this outdoor season after topping 20 metres twice at five indoor events, including a 20.22 winning throw at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow on March 1.
Eyeing 4th straight Canadian title
"There is a lot to be grateful for in my throwing life, so I am just trying to focus on everything as a little bit of a positive," said Mitton, who went on to raise her outdoor Canadian record to 20.68 on May 11 in Fleetwood, Pa.
Mitton will try to make it four consecutive national titles at the June 26-30 Olympic trials in Montreal.
"I am looking forward to competing on home soil," she said. "I am trying to clean up my finish a little bit and trying to put the pieces together. I come up a bit early and my throws are very high. So, working on that so that hopefully I get that nailed down."
Three other Canadians were in action in Stockholm, but only one was in an official Diamond League event. Jean-Simon Desgagnés, of Saint-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Que., finished with a season's best time in the men's 3,000m steeplechase. His time of eight minutes 15.95 seconds was also good enough for an eighth-place result.
World record holder Lamecha Girma set the fastest time in the world this season, winning in 8:01.63, ahead of fellow Ethiopian Samuel Firewu, who set a personal best of 8:05.78.
In non-Diamond League points events, Quebec City's Charles Philibert-Thiboutot finished the men's 1,500 in three minutes 34.95 seconds, for a seventh-place result, while sprinter Jerome Blake, of Kelowna, B.C., finished third (10.44 seconds) in the national men's 100m.
WATCH | Eseme wins men's 100m:
"A few details to refine, but positive to record a second time under 3:35 this season," Félix-Antoine Lapointe, Philibert-Thiboutot's coach, wrote in a post to X. On May 28, Philibert-Thiboutot was fourth (3:34.50) at the 63rd Ostrava Golden Spike meet in the Czech Republic.
Philibert-Thiboutot will return to Vancouver for "intense" workouts and physiotherapy before the June 15 Harry Jerome Track Classic in Burnaby, B.C., followed by the Montreal Track and Field Classic six days later. He is scheduled to race the 800 in Burnaby and 1,000 in Montreal before returning to the 1,500 at Olympic trials.
"After trials, [I] want to keep my body fresh and ramp up the intensity, so I won't be [racing] as much. Workouts will be hard but less volume," said Philibert-Thiboutot. "At the beginning of July , I will be more rested for key workouts and races. Ideally, I will race [once] before [the Olympics in] Paris after trials, a 1,500 or 3,000 in Europe."
Duplantis wins but short of world mark
Sweden's Armand Duplantis failed in another attempt to break his own pole vault world record but continued to impress ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The Olympic and world champion broke his record for the eighth time with a vault of 6.24 metres in April, and after easing to victory with his first attempt at 6.00 on Sunday, he had the home crowd behind him as he attempted to go even better.
Duplantis came bitterly close, but was unable to clear 6.25 in his three attempts. Two-time world champion American Sam Kendricks was second with 5.90.
Bol cruises to hurdles victory in outdoor opener
Femke Bol made a winning return to action as she contested her first outdoor race of the year, and the Dutch world champion had little trouble winning the women's 400 hurdles in a time of 53.07.
"It was really fun, Stockholm is really a wonderful place and especially if I can run during Mondo's world record attempts, then the crowd is really amazing," Bol said.
Brazil's Alison dos Santos cruised to victory in the men's 400 hurdles, ahead of world silver medallist Kyron McMaster. Dos Santos, who beat Norway's Olympic and world champion Karsten Warholm in Oslo on Thursday with a world-leading 46.63 seconds, could afford to run a slower time of 47.01 as he eased to the line having exploded down the back straight.
In other results:
- British Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir strolled to a win in the women's 1,500 in a time of 3:57.99. Muir made her move on the final bend and pulled away down the home straight. Kenya's Edinah Jebitok came second with a personal best of 3:58.88 ahead of Georgia Griffith, the Australian who won over 3,000 in Oslo on Thursday.
- World champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the women's high jump, clearing 2.00 metres in her second attempt, with the Ukrainian making her outdoor season debut.
- Jamaica's world champion Shericka Jackson won the women's 200 in a season's best of 22.69, but still well off her 21.41 from last season, the second fastest time ever.
WATCH | Jackson captures women's 200m:
Diamond League calendar
- Paris — July 7
- Monaco — July 12
- London — July 20
- Lausanne, Switzerland — Aug. 22
- Silesia, Poland — Aug. 25
- Rome — Aug. 30
- Zurich — Sept. 5
- Brussels (DL Final) — Sept. 13-14
With files from Reuters
