Jessica Schilder from the Netherlands recovered from a nasty slip in the throwing circle to win the shot put on the first day of the European Throwing Cup in Leiria on Saturday (9).
The reigning European outdoor champion began her competition with two no-throws and her afternoon took another turn for the worse as she slipped and fell in the circle on her third attempt on a day which was marred by inclement - and at times extreme - weather conditions.
Fortunately, that fall didn’t cause any lingering effects. Schilder opened her account in earnest with 17.91m in the fourth round before producing a winning effort of 18.22m on her fifth attempt to displace Germany’s Julia Ritter who set the standard in the second round with 18.16m.
Eliana Bandeira ensured some home success on the first day of competition, winning bronze with her second round throw of 17.60m ahead of her more esteemed teammate and last year’s winner Jessica Inchude who had to settle for fourth with 17.53m.
Romania's Alin Alexandru Firfirica produced another of the first day highlights in the men's discus. Even though the competition was delayed to the end of the programme when the conditions had deteriorated even further, the experienced Romanian still produced a winning throw of 66.07m on his first attempt, also a European lead, followed by another 65 metre-plus throw of 65.79m with his second attempt.
These were by far the two best throws of the day. He defeated Sweden's Olympic silver medallist Simon Pettersson by almost three metres (63.08m) with Germany's Daniel Jasinski third (61.84m).
Kokhan approaches 80 metres in the hammer
Three-time U23 winner Mykhailo Kokhan from Ukraine defeated two-time reigning champion Bence Halasz from Hungary - the athlete whom Kokhan cites as his inspiration - for victory in the hammer.
Taking to the throwing circle clad in a full grey tracksuit, Kokhan led from the first round with 76.46m before improving to 76.72m on the fourth attempt and he added extra lustre to his afternoon, finishing his competition with a season’s best of 78.13m.
Kokhan won by almost two whole metres from Halasz (76.22m) with Greece’s Hristos Frantzeskakis third with 74.96m. In total, the top eleven athletes all surpassed the 70 metre-line in spite of the challenging conditions.
Serbia’s European silver medallist Adriana Vilagos defeated a strong field in the ‘A’ division of the women’s javelin with a season’s best and European U23 leading distance of 61.17m.
Vilagos was one of three athletes to break the 60 metre-line with Türkiye’s Eda Tugsuz (60.50m) and Poland’s Marcelina Witak-Konofal (60.08m) taking second and third respectively on an afternoon which saw two of the favourites falter.
Reigning European champion and last year’s winner Elina Tzengko from Greece could only muster up an effort of 57.79m to finish sixth while Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk - who holds the event record with 71.40m from 2021 but has struggled with injuries since then - retired with a best of 55.04m after taking two throws off an abbreviated approach.
After the competition, Andrejczyk announced on social media that she strained her adductor in the week leading up to the competition although pleasingly, the Pole didn’t report any problems with her shoulder which has required surgery.
However, the overall plaudits went to Norway’s Marie-Therese Obst who won the ‘B’ division of the javelin - in arguably worse conditions than the ‘A’ group faced - with a lifetime best and European lead of 61.69m.
Two of Andreczyk’s compatriots showed the strength of Polish throwing by taking victories in the U23 competitions.
Only 19, Zuzanna Maslana won the shot put by over one metre with 17.08m while 2021 European U20 champion Dawid Pilat won the hammer with 71.52m in a stop-start competition which was delayed partly due to the inclement weather and partly due to damage to the cage.
Steven Mills for European Athletics