by Larry EderThe women’s shot put in Nanjing became even more dramatic two weeks before the event. In Apeldoorn, Jessica Schilder, NED, who had never done well in a European Indoor, led in the Netherlands in front of her Dutch fans from the beginning. Schilder threw 20.69m, the best throw in the world by one centimeter. Sarah Mitton, CAN, who had thrown 20.68m in the earlier season, texted Jessica after her big throw. Jessica Schilder revealed that tidbit to this writer in our interview post-competition in Apeldoorn!
Sarah Mitton, CAN, was all business in Nanjing. Opening in 19.61m, then a big 20.36m, which would lead all the way until the Canadian’s final throw of 20.48m. Sarah Mitton defended her title from Glasgow!
Jessica Schilder, NED, fouled, then threw 20.07m on her second throw, and that gave her the silver. Jessica threw 19.26m to 19.67m, but just could not push farther. Schilder has had an excellent 2025, with a win at European Indoors and silver at World Indoors.
Chase Jackson, USA, had some troubles getting her throws out as far as she knows she can go. In attempt six, Chase connected, and threw 20.06m, just one centimeter behind Jessica Schilder. Chase is the World Champion from 2022, and is an extremely popular athlete on RunBlogRun.
Fanny Roos was fourth in 19.28m. In fifth was the icon Gong LiJao, who threw 18.84m. I recall watching Gong compete in Beijing in 2008 in Beijing. That Gong LiJao is competing in 2025 is pretty darn amazing!
This was a tremendous competition, with three women over 20 meters and several others quite capable of that feet. Sarah Mitton continues to impress. Jessica Schilder, who told me she lacks confidence, is surely competing well for someone with little confidence. Chase Jackson is just suggesting how good she will be in 2025 outdoors!
Sarah Mitton, CAN, told the media about her views of the season and defedning her title in Nanjing:
“It sure didn’t feel easy tonight. It was a long competition. I warmed up at 6pm outside the stadium, and it was like 9.15pm when we finished. So, a little different to be on for so long. But I feel like I was able to really keep the energy, and I think the crowd helped me a lot. When there are people so engaged, it’s really easy to continue to try to fight for those big throws. I’m just really happy with how it turned out today. There’s really nothing I can do to stop them from throwing far. And honestly, today was really fun, because everybody threw well. We had three girls in 20 metres, multiple 20 metre throws. So that makes it better, when you win, when everyone’s on top of their game. I try not to focus too much on what they’re doing. What works for me is focusing on the circle. Showing little girls out there what we can do is a big part of me stepping into my role model era. Five years ago, I never thought I’d be here. I don’t have the ideal body image of what a shot put winner used to look like, and I think that’s changing. The women out there are doing that, myself included. It’s really cool to show little girls how cool it is, that lifting heavy weights is cool, and just taking up space like that is really awesome. That’s a whole new kind of world for me. I still use other people to look up to that, because it’s hard. It’s so innate to feel like that now how you should be. So just trying to do that for little girls too, it’s helping me come out of my shell a little bit.”
Jessica Schilder, NED, spoke about the challenges of competing in two major championships in three weeks:
“It took a while during the event and there were many breaks and things happened, I was trying to stay positive and do my thing, but I was really happy with 20 metres so I’m happy. Last year I had trouble with it, but this year I managed with pressure. This medal means absolutely everything to me. Since Apeldoorn, with my shoulders it’s been 2 weeks, I’m really happy that I could be consistent even though I have to compete in quite intense competitions. I learnt a lot and I think I can take it with me in my career. I had many injuries, but in the end, you won, all the pain excites you and pays off. Next for me is going to South Africa for a training camp and then go home for a bit and then come to China again for 2 Diamond League events! I’m excited but I think I need a little bit of rest before I roll again!”
I must say that the shot put is one of the sports most popular events. It is quite sad that both Grand Slam and Athlos have not considered including the event into their series or events.
The women’s shot put is competing at a high level. The anxiety increases for the athletes as World Athletics continues to add challenges to throwers focusing on throwing. First, there are 3 attempts in qualifying, now there are six athletes who get last throw. It is all about making the sport more modern and as some say, “such is the price to move into the modern world!”
