Shot putter Mitton throws 19.44m for 3rd place in Diamond League opener in Poland

Fresh off a gold medal performance at the Commonwealth Games, Sarah Mitton placed 15th in the top three of her shot put season on Saturday.

The Canadian record holder’s 19.44-metre throw on her second of six attempts held off a third-place finish at Silesia Kamila Skolimowska, the first-ever Diamond League track meet in Chorzów, Poland.

Three days earlier, the native of Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, had thrown 19.03 to edge Jamaican Danniel Thomas-Dodd in the Commonwealth final in Birmingham, England.

Reigning world champion Chase Ealey of the United States took a step closer to her first Diamond League trophy, winning Saturday’s event in a meet record 20.38. It was the 28-year-old’s fourth Diamond League win of the season, following victories in Doha, Qatar, Oslo in Norway and Stockholm.

On Saturday, Ealey beat Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands, who threw 19.84 at Silesia Stadium for a national best and a personal best. She also finished second to Ealey at the August 6 World Finals in Eugene, Ore.

Defending Diamond League champion Maggie Ewen finished seventh (18.50) in the field of eight in Silesia.

Ealey leads the way by qualifying for the Diamond League final on September 7-8 in Zurich with 32 points, followed by Schilder (20), Mitton, Fanny Roos – who set the Swedish record at 19.42 on Saturday – and of the Portuguese Auriol Dongmo, each with 16.

Canadian record for 20.33 meters

In Birmingham, 26-year-old Mitton bounced back after narrowly missing out on the podium at the World Championships in Athletics, where she placed fourth (19.77).

Mitton prepared for the world championships by smashing her own national mark with a throw of 20.33 at the Canadian championships on June 25 in Langley, BC. She finished second to Sweden five days later in the Diamond League.

WATCH l Mitton reflects on his 4th place at the world championships:

Mitton made his professional circuit debut on June 16, finishing sixth at the Bislett Games in Norway, two weeks before placing fourth in Sweden.

She finished fourth at the world championships, although Mitton tied the distance of 19.77 for third place on her last throw. The tiebreaker goes to the second-best throw – Schilder’s second-best throw 19.53 to 19.18 for Mitton.

Although she narrowly missed the podium, it was Canada’s best performance in the women’s shot put at a world championship.

On February 5, Mitton broke the Canadian indoor record at an event in New York with a performance of 19.16.

Mitton followed three months later, throwing 19.58 to break the Canadian outdoor mark at the Golden Horseshoe Prep Meet in Hamilton.

Jackson and Bromell sprinters score wins

World champion Shericka Jackson continued her stellar season by winning the women’s 200m while Trayvon Bromell beat fellow American Marvin Bracy for the men’s 100m title.

Jamaican Jackson became the fastest woman alive over the distance at last month’s World Championships in Athletics clocking 21.45 seconds, but she finished a little off that with a 21.84 effort on Saturday .

Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas was second at 22.35 and American Jenna Prandini third at 22.39.

“The race went as planned. I wanted to execute, focus on my lane and not watch what my rivals were doing. I approach all my races like that,” said Jackson, who is backed to Eclipse the World by the American Florence Griffith-Joyner. record set in 1988.

“I don’t think about the world record. I just try to do my best, if it comes, it comes.”

Jackson’s compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce then set the world best time of 10.66 in the women’s 100m, which was not part of the official Diamond League program.

Bromell had settled for bronze behind Bracy at the world championships but made no mistake racing on a wet track and in a slight headwind at Chorzow as he crossed the finish line in 9, 95 seconds for a second victory of the season in the Diamond League on 100.

“It’s my second year on the tour and I’m still learning,” Bromell said. “I try to be the best I can be. I didn’t like my performance too much today, there were a lot of small details that could be improved.”

Jamaican Ackeem Blake finished third ahead of Christian Coleman and Yohan Blake.

No stopping Dos Santos hurdler

Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos earned his fifth Diamond League men’s 400 hurdles win of 2022 to add to his world title, as he clocked victory in 47.8 seconds, beating Khallifeh Rosser and Wilfried Happio.

“I’m happy and proud of my result because I had a long season. Now I want to enjoy every competition and have fun…I want to try and win that Diamond League trophy,” he said. .

American Michael Norman took on Kirani James of Grenada in the final chapter of their men’s 400m rivalry, with the pair finishing first and second respectively, as they did at the world championships.

Swedish world record holder Armand Duplantis comfortably won the men’s pole vault with an effort of 6.10m, despite not competing for Diamond League points.

The 22-year-old, who broke his own world record with a jump of 6.21 at the world championships, has already qualified for the final in September where he will seek to defend his title.

Monaco will host the next Diamond League competition on August 10, followed by Lausanne, Switzerland (August 26) and Brussels (September 2).