Sarah Mitton ranks 2nd in shot put at Diamond League final to cap remarkable season

Canadian record holder and defending national champion Sarah Mitton capped off her memorable shot put season with a second-place finish in the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League final on Wednesday.

The Brooklyn, N.S. native hit a best throw of 19.56 yards on the first of her six attempts at Sechselautenplatz, one of the city’s most famous squares on the shores of Lake Zürich.

However, Mitton endured some difficulty afterwards with three no-throws and another attempt measuring 18.85.

Chase Ealey of the United States topped the field of six with a best throw of 20.19 for his 11th victory in as many outdoor events in 2022, including five wins on the professional track and field circuit and three against Mitton.

WATCH | Mitton covers 19.56 meters to take 2nd place in Zurich:

Django Lovett was the other Canadian in action Wednesday, finishing third in the men’s high jump.

Winners of 32 disciplines at the two-day event in Switzerland take home US$30,000 in prize money and receive wild card entry to next year’s World Championships in Athletics in Budapest, Hungary.

Auriol Dongmo of Portugal threw 19.46 on his third down Wednesday and finished third.

Mitton, who lives and trains in Toronto, will take home $12,000 from Wednesday’s performance in Switzerland. She started her sensational 2022 campaign in early February with a Canadian indoor record of 19.16 in New York, surpassing Brittany Crew’s 18.81.

Commonwealth, NACAC titles

Three months later, Mitton’s 19.58 effort at the Golden Horseshoe Prep Meet in Hamilton surpassed Crew’s 19.28 from 2019.

On June 25, Mitton raised the record to 20.33 in Langley, BC for his second Canadian title at the senior level.

The 26-year-old went on to win gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and NACAC Championships in August, throwing 20.15 in the latter event in the Bahamas. Other highlights of Mitton’s season include second and third place finishes, respectively, at Diamond League fixtures in Stockholm and Silesia, Poland.

WATCH | Mitton wins Commonwealth Games gold:

Nova Scotia’s Sarah Mitton throws the shot put to Commonwealth Games gold

Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, N.S., shot 19.03 meters to edge Jamaican Danniel Thomas-Dodd to win gold in the shot put at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England .

Meanwhile, Lovett, 30, of Surrey, B.C., cleared the bar on his first attempts of 2.15 yards, 2.21, 2.24 and 2.27 on Wednesday.

He missed his first try at 2:30 a.m. and re-entered the competition at 2:32 a.m., missing twice before calling it a day.

After winning her second national title earlier this summer, Lovett cleared 2.25 to win at NACAC in August and was also victorious at one of five Diamond League meets and sixth at the world championships.

On Thursday, veteran sprinters Aaron Brown and Andre De Grasse and middle-distance runner Marco Arop will attempt to win the first Diamond League trophy by a Canadian since shot putter Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops, B.C., on Thursday. September 16, 2011.

The year before, Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Whitby, Ont., who was once the world number one hurdler, became the first Canadian Diamond League champion when the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist stopped the clock in 12.54 seconds in the women’s 100m at the Memorial Van Damme competition. in Belgium the day after his 28th birthday.

WATCH | Brown secures a spot in the 200m final at the Diamond League final:

Aaron Brown of Toronto finishes 3rd in the men’s 200m at the Brussels Diamond League

American Erriyon Knighton won the men’s 200 meters at the Diamond League event in Brussels with a time of 20.07 seconds, while Toronto’s Aaron Brown finished third with a time of 20.22 seconds.