AFTER A BREAKTHROUGH and erstwhile unbeaten season, few would have bet against China’s 18-year-old javelin prodigy Ziyi Yan despite the presence of ‘23 WC and ‘24 OG winner Haruka Kitaguchi, of Japan.
Yan had won all six of her outings in ‘26 by a margin of at least 9-feet with the nearest anyone got being 2.98 meters between the two Asian throwers at the Brussels DL final.
Adding to the impression that this was going to be a Chinese takeaway of the Ultimate trophy and $150,000 check, Yan had thrown the world-leading (and No. 2 all-time) mark of 235-4 (71.74) back in May on home soil at the Xiamen DL.
However, an inspired performance on the night from Kitaguchi — with her new coach Jan Železný, who is still the men’s WR-holder after 30 years with his 1996 mark of 323-1 (98.48), looking on — dramatically rewrote the script. Furthermore, an ill-timed foot injury in the second round for Yan meant the Japanese athlete had a triumphant return to the Hungarian capital for the first time since winning her world title in the same stadium 3 years ago.
Yan, the first to throw thanks to sitting atop the WA world rankings, opened with an impressive 222-3 (68.05), farther than anyone else in the world had achieved in ‘26.
The best of the rest after the first stanza was Serbia’s Adriana Vilagoš who managed 201-4 (61.37) while Kitaguchi, throwing 6th in the initial rotation, could only reach 200-7 (61.15)
In the second round, Yan launched her implement out to 209-9 (63.95), but it was clear all was not well as she limped over to her coach Xiurong Lu pointing to her right foot.
Colombia’s ‘23 Worlds silver medallist Flor Dennis Ruiz and Australia’s 2-time World Champs bronze medalist Mackenzie Little then improved to 205-5 (62.62) and 201-9 (61.49) respectively to overtake Kitaguchi.
But not for long. The Japanese star promptly executed a throw which drew applause and smiles from the usually impassive Železný as it touched down at 226-1 (68.92).
The throw added exactly 4 feet to her previous Japanese record of 222-1 (67.38) set at the ‘23 Brussels DL and moved her up to =No. 10 on the all-time list.
Sadly, after Kitaguchi had fouled her third throw, Yan took off her javelin boot and motioned to the officials that she was retiring from the competition before being taken away in a wheelchair for treatment.
With Yan now out-of-action, Kitaguchi was unlikely to be challenged and also fouled her final effort before reflecting on her surprise win: “I’m glad I’ve kept such fond memories of this stadium. I was so disappointed at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo, but now I can say I’m back.”
She had been the face of the Champs in the Japanese capital a year ago but failed to make the final after battling with an elbow injury.
Kitaguchi added, “After my first attempt, my coach told me to stay focused and keep the javelin straight, saying that if I managed that, I could get some real distance.”
Further down the standings, Little threw 207-11 (63.37) in the third round before Ruiz regained the 3rd spot with 212-9 (64.84) on her final attempt. That made it the first meet in ‘26 where 4 women have thrown over 63 meters.
Results coming soon.
