Your writer first met Jessica Schilder in Apeldoorn in March 2025. Jessica, in a preview interview, told me that she was not really confident in her indoor competitions. By March 2025, Jessica Schilder had won European Outdoor titles in Munich in 2022 and in Rome in 2024. Indoor had not been a confidence booster for her. I remember thinking about how honest she was and how she would perform in Apeldoorn, where she set her first continental record. In Apeldoorn, Jessica took gold; in Nanjing 2025 (World Indoors), Jessica took a silver medal. Later in the year, Jessica took the biggest title of them all, the World Outdoor Athletics W shot put in Tokyo 2025 in September 2025.
Now, let’s move to Birmingham.
One sees a Dutch shot putter, very different from the Jessica Schilder I met in Apeldoorn. Quietly confident in Birmingham, Jessica took the lead in Throw 1 with 19.81 meters, then 20.09 meters. In throw 3, Jessica threw the winning throw, with a huge 20.52m. Jessica fouled in throw 4, then threw another 20.09 meters, and finally threw 20.73 meters. After her gold, Jessica told the EA Flashquote team:
“I will never get tired of this feeling; I will never get bored of winning these medals. I had the confidence going into this that, even though I was competing with an injured finger, I could do well here. It was a little bit about battling and pushing through the pain today. But knowing that I will have some rest after this competition, I just went all out. It was an exciting final. I hoped to throw beyond 20 on the first attempt, but I got 19.81m. After that, it was a matter of focusing and building within the competition. That worked out well. I shouldn’t be saying this, maybe, but this was the easiest (of her three European titles). There was quite a gap with the other competitors. After the 20.52m attempt, I felt quite confident and calm, knowing I would land the top spot and could also build a little further. It’s amazing that the silver medal was also won by a Dutchie (Jorinde van Klinken, NED), and that the podium was the exact same one as in 2024. We love to compete with each other, to push each other to a higher level. I love the girls. We are just having fun, are there for each other, and love each other. “
Jorinde Van Klinken, NED, took silver on the strength of her very first throw, in 19.64 meters. Yemisi Mabry, GER, the Olympic champion in the W shot put, threw 19.50m on her first throw, and she jumped for joy after her medal-winning performance.
In the end, it was Jessica Schilder’s time in the Women’s shot put. The world leader has to put it on the line every time she throws! And the thrill of victory, for Jessica Schilder, never gets old!
