Shot putter Sarah Mitton wins her 1st Diamond League Trophy weeks after Olympic heartbreak
Canadian record holder beats U.S. rival, 2-time defending champion Chase Jackson
It wasn't the plan, but Sarah Mitton has her Olympic redemption.
The shot putter from Brooklyn, N.S., threw 20.25 metres on her third of six attempts Friday to win her first Diamond League Trophy, beating two-time defending champion Chase Jackson (19.90) of the United States to open the two-day, season-ending track and field event in Brussels.
Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany threw 19.72 for third place in the Diamond League Final, which doubles as the 48th Allianz Memorial Van Damme meet.
Mitton is the first women's field athlete from Canada to capture a Diamond Trophy. Hurdler Priscilla Lopes-Schliep won the country's first Trophy in 2010, followed by shot putter Dylan Armstrong (2011) and sprinter Andre De Grasse (2023).
Mitton said "a lot of frustrations and emotions" near the shot put circle during Friday's event worked in her favour.
"It was really hectic …and I think that's what produced my performance today," she said. "But overall, a really good competition.
"I think I could have gone further but I am happy with the win," continued Mitton, who also receives $30,000 US for her performance. "I am really happy with my season. I had some ups and downs but I won a title in March [at the World Athletics Indoor Championships] and now the Diamond League title, so this is great. I am going to … do better next season."
WATCH | Mitton throws 20.25 metres for her 1st Diamond League Final victory:
Mitton arrived in Belgium this week following a three-week break during which she rested at home in Toronto and reset in training after fouling out of the Olympic final in Paris on Aug. 9, placing last in a field of 12 with a best of 17.48.
Mitton yelled upon releasing the ball on her winning throw Friday before a crowd of about 35,000 on a cool evening at King Baudouin Stadium.
"I'm not going to the Diamond League Final looking for [Olympic] redemption but excited to show up on the circuit and try to throw my furthest on the day," the 28-year-old told CBC Sports earlier this week.
"With a three-week break, sometimes it gets tough to stay focused, but I got in the [shot put] circle and worked on some pieces I know lead to bigger throws."
Friday's effort was Mitton's fourth beyond 20 metres in outdoor competition this season. She tossed a Canadian record and world-leading 20.68 on May 11 in Fleetwood, Pa, followed by 20.15 on June 9 (New York City Grand Prix) and 20.18 in Thum, Germany one week after the Olympic final.
'It takes my best day to get her'
It was likely going to take a big performance in Brussels to beat Jackson, who entered Friday's competition ranked No. 1 in the world and fresh off a season-best 20.64 in Diamond League action on Aug. 22 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mitton, ranked second, was unsure of the "secret sauce" to prevail in a Diamond League Final against Jackson, who failed to qualify for the Olympic final in Paris.
"We've had some solid battles this year," Mitton told CBC Sports. "It takes my best day to get her. I managed to [beat] her at world indoors and our PBs are close together — hers is 20.76 and mine is 20.68.
I didn't throw near the result I wanted in Paris. That's hard [mentally] when you haven't had a lot of those [experiences] in the last couple of years.— Sarah Mitton on fouling out of the Olympic shot put final on Aug. 9
"She definitely feels the heat from me, so I'm hoping over the next year or two I can take over that [No. 1 ranking]. It's been a long season and mentally, I'm excited to be done. I'm tired and looking forward to some rest."
Post-Olympics, Mitton twice competed in Germany before throwing 19.52 in Lausanne before returning home.
"Those meets were critical to my mental well-being," she said. "The best thing is to get back in the circle, do what you know and what you train for.
"After the [Olympics] it's hard to feel like yourself when [you foul out of a competition]. I didn't throw near the result I wanted [in Paris]. That's hard [mentally] when you haven't had a lot of those [experiences] in the last couple of years."
WATCH l Mitton fouls out of Paris Olympic final on 3rd throw:
Mitton cited the rainy and wet conditions at Stade de France for costing her an Olympic medal.
"I feel I was in the best shape of my life and the most prepared I could have been to throw far," Mitton said, adding her third and final throw, in which she fell out of the circle, probably would have measured 19.50-19.60 for the bronze medal ahead of Song Jiayuan of China.
"I need to throw in the rain a bit more. I haven't had a lot of opportunity [in my career] and I've never been successful with the spin [technique] in the rain."
WATCH | Full event replay: Day 1 of Diamond League Final:
Arop targets men's 800m world record
Middle-distance runner Marco Arop and pole vaulter Alysha Newman will also try to become first-time Diamond League Trophy winners on Saturday. They will compete at 3:40 p.m. ET and 1:51 p.m., respectively.
Arop, who won Olympic silver in the men's 800m in Paris, is brimming with confidence after lowering his Canadian record to two minutes 13.13 seconds across 1,000 metres for the meet record at a World Athletics Continental Tour event in Zagreb, Croatia last Sunday.
Arop's 1:41.20 PB from the Olympic 800 final is 29-100ths of a second off David Rudisha's 1:40.91 world record that has stood since Aug. 9, 2012. Rudisha gave Arop his gold medal at worlds on Aug. 26, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.
In Zagreb, Arop told meet organizers he was heading to Brussels "to break the 800m world record. … The record is definitely going down."
Newman, 30, is making her fourth Diamond League Final appearance and first since 2019. Last week, she cleared 4.82m for second place behind Olympic champion Nina Kennedy of Australia at the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League event.
In Paris, the London, Ont., native became Canada's first-ever Olympic medallist in women's pole vault.
Friday's other notable results:
- Olympic champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia won the women's 100m title in 10.88 seconds, ahead of Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith (10.92) and Ivory Coast's Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith (11.05). Reigning world champion and Olympic silver medallist Sha'Carri Richardson of the U.S. finished eighth in a sluggish 11.23.
WATCH | Sprinter Alfred adds Diamond League title to Paris Olympic gold:
- Jamaica's Ackeem Blake won the men's 100m in 9.93, defeating former world champion Christian Coleman (10.00) and back-to-back Olympic medallist Fred Kerley (10.01), both of the United States. Olympic champ Noah Lyles and silver medallist Kishane Thompson did not qualify for the Final.
- Swedish pole vault maestro Armand Duplantis won his fourth consecutive Diamond Trophy to go along with his back-to-back gold medals at both the world championships and Olympics. Mondo cleared 6.11m for the win but opted not to take a run at his own world record of 6.26.
- Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the men's 1,500m Diamond Trophy for the third consecutive year — he prevailed last year on his 1,500 split in the men's mile (1,609m) at the Prefontaine Classic. The 2021 Olympic champ outran Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot and American Cole Hocker, who upset Ingebrigtsen to win gold in Paris.
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With files from Jesse Campigotto, CBC Sports
