Wlodarczyk, the only woman to break the 80 meter barrier in the throw, bested her own world record on Monday, blasting a 82.29 meter toss to easily take the top spot in Rio de Janeiro.
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World champion Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland broke her own world record with her third attempt in the Olympic women’s hammer throw final. Both medalists were more than 5 meters adrift of the 31-year-old Pole.
Wlodarczyk established the previous world record after throwing for a distance of 81.08 metres in August 2015, but her new record entry was more than a metre superior to that and four metres greater than the old Olympic record.
China’s world bronze medallist Zhang Wenxiu secured silver with 76.75m, while Germany’s former world record-holder Betty Heidler threw 73.71m for fourth. “After the first round I knew that I would get the gold medal and after the second one I went for it all”.
Left disappointed after her fifth place in the 100m final, Schippers admitted after her 200m heat that she had nearly left the Games because of a leg problem.
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“I couldn’t move, especially after the run around the stadium”, she said, sitting on a stool after struggling to stand for media interviews. I was very disappointed that I wasn’t able to show what I’m capable of doing. “It was 16 years ago that she won in Sydney and I’m very happy that I continued this tradition”. “But the best thing for me is the world record, because I talked a lot about it”.
