SHE CHANGED UP her pattern. The result was the same. Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi has become known — and feared — for her final-throw heroics. That scenario won her the ’23 Worlds, and she subsequently posted her best mark on her last attempt at 6 of her next 11 meets.
This time, Kitaguchi, 26, left nothing to chance. Throwing 4th in the final, her opener sailed out to 215-10 (65.80), her season’s best. That was good enough for a nearly 2-meter margin on her closest competitor, and she became Japan’s first-ever women’s field event medalist.
Kitaguchi’s one throw in the qualifying round, 205-4 (62.58), placed her only 7th. The leader was Poland’s Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, Maria Andrejczyk, at 214-11 (65.52), followed by Rio16 winner Sara Kolak (Croatia) at 211-10 (64.57) and ’24 list leader Flor Denis Ruiz (Colombia) at 211-3 (64.40). None of the six who threw farther than Kitaguchi in the qualifying was able to record a better mark in the final.
Unexpectedly eliminated were new European champion Victoria Hudson (Austria) and Euro silver medalist Adriana Vilagoš (Serbia). OT winner Maggie Malone-Hardin threw 6.24m (20ft-plus) below her season’s best and did not advance.
Behind the leader in the first round of the final, three women recorded their best marks and did not improve, finishing 6-7-8. Another, Ruiz, reached 206-8 (63.00) in round 2, but that would leave her only 5th.
In round 3, surprising South African Jo-Ané Van Dyk moved into 2nd — a position she would retain — with a 209-9 (63.93). Two throwers later, Kolak produced a 208-0 (63.40), but her hold on the bronze medal was brief. Taking advantage of a gap between track events, Czechia’s Nikola Ogrodníková unloaded her longest toss of the year, 208-11 (63.68), and the medals were decided.
The final three rounds were a mixture of fouls and futility, except for Kitaguchi, whose 212-4 (64.73) would, if necessary, have sufficed for victory.
The winning mark is the shortest ever with the current implement, but that mattered little to the champion, who left her home in Japan to train in Czechia. “I cannot believe this,” she said. “This wasn’t easy for me. Before, I couldn’t train well, but my physio and my team believed in me. Without their help, I cannot get gold today.”
A reflective Van Dyk said, “After I finished with my studies, I’ve been supported by my parents. It was quite difficult, when everybody else is moving on with their lives, earning salaries, and I’m just here, still trying. So this means a lot. I always say, all the struggles, the disappointments, moments like this eclipse it all.”
WOMEN’S JAVELIN RESULTS
FINAL (August 10)
(temperature 84-82F/29-28C; humidity 40-41%)
1. Haruka Kitaguchi (Jpn) 215-10 (65.80)
(215-10, 204-8, f, 202-4, 212-4, f) (65.80, 62.39, f, 61.68, 64.73, f);
2. Jo-Ané Van Dyk (SA) 209-9 (63.93)
(195-11, 202-6, 209-9, f, 203-7, 187-3) (59.72, 61.72, 63.93, f, 62.07, 57.07);
3. Nikola Ogrodníková (CzR) 208-11 (63.68)
(190-8, f, 208-11, 191-5, 201-7, 190-5) (58.13, f, 63.68, 58.34, 61.45, 58.04);
4. Sara Kolak (Cro) 208-0 (63.40)
(189-10, 193-0, 208-0, 191-8, 204-5, 206-9) (57.86, 58.82, 63.40, 58.43, 62.31, 63.03);
5. Flor Dennis Ruiz (Col) 206-8 (63.00)
(198-5, 206-8, 204-9, 202-4, 197-4, 201-3) (60.49, 63.00, 62.41, 61.68, 60.14, 61.35);
6. Yulenmis Aguilar (Spa) 206-0 (62.78)
(206-0, f, 197-5, p, 202-0, f) (62.78, f, 60.17, p, 61.58, f);
7. Kathryn Mitchell (Aus) 205-5 (62.63)
(205-5, 195-5, 197-10, 203-11, f, f) (62.63, 59.57, 60.31, 62.16, f, f);
8. Maria Andrejczyk (Pol) 204-10 (62.44)
(204-10, 198-7, f, f, f, 189-5) (62.44, 60.52, f, f, f, 57.74);
9. Elína Tzénggo (Gre) 202-11 (61.85)
(202-11, f, 189-11) (61.85, f, 57.90);
10. Momone Ueda (Jpn) 202-3 (61.64)
(195-5, 202-3, 196-2) (59.57, 61.64, 59.79);
11. Marie-Therese Obst (Nor) 200-7 (61.14)
(200-7, 198-8, 192-10) (61.14, 60.57, 58.78);
12. Mackenzie Little (Aus) 197-11 (60.32)
(197-11, 186-10, 194-11) (60.32, 56.94, 59.41).
(best-ever mark-for-place 9–10, 12)
| * = progression of the leading throw; ¶ = athlete’s best of the day | |||
| first 3 rounds | |||
| Andrejczyk | 62.44*¶ | 60.52 | f |
| Obst | 61.14¶ | 60.57 | 58.78 |
| Van Dyk | 59.72 | 61.72 | 63.93¶ |
| Kitaguchi | 65.80*¶ | 62.39 | f |
| Kolak | 57.86 | 58.82 | 63.40¶ |
| Ruiz | 60.49 | 63.00¶ | 62.41 |
| Ueda | 59.57 | 61.64¶ | 59.79 |
| Tzénggo | 61.85¶ | f | 57.90 |
| Mitchell | 62.63¶ | 59.57 | 60.31 |
| Ogrodníková | 58.13 | f | 63.68¶ |
| Aguilar | 62.78¶ | f | 60.17 |
| Little | 60.32¶ | 56.94 | 59.41 |
| last 3 rounds | |||
| Andrejczyk | f | f | 57.74 |
| Mitchell | 62.16 | f | f |
| Aguilar | p | 61.58 | f |
| Ruiz | 61.68 | 60.14 | 61.35 |
| Kolak | 58.43 | 62.31 | 63.03 |
| Ogrodníková | 58.34 | 61.45 | 58.04 |
| Van Dyk | f | 62.07 | 57.07 |
| Kitaguchi | 61.68 | 64.73 | f |
QUALIFYING (August 07; auto-qualifier 203-5/62.00)
Qualifiers: Andrejczyk 214-11 (65.52), Kolak 211-10 (64.57), Ruiz 211-3 (64.40), Van Dyk 210-8 (64.22) PR, Tzénggo 207-5 (63.22) Little 206-1 (62.82), Kitaguchi 205-4 (62.58), Mitchell 204-9 (62.40), Aguilar 203-3 (61.95), Obst 202-10 (61.82), Ogrodníková 200-8 (61.16), Ueda (Jpn) 200-5 (61.08);
Non-qualifiers: Adriana Vilagoš (Ser) 198-5 (60.49), Petra Sicaková (CzR) & Anete Sietiņa (Lat) 198-4 (60.47), Maria Lucelly Murillo (Col) 198-1 (60.38), Līna Mūze-Sirmā (Lat) 197-10 (60.30), Christin Hussong (Ger) 196-10 (59.99), Tori Peeters (NZ) 196-1 (59.78), Victoria Hudson (Aut) 195-10 (59.69), Marina Saito (Jpn) 194-11 (59.42), Huihui Lu (Chn) 194-9 (59.37), Qianqian Dai (Chn) 194-8 (59.33), Maggie Malone Hardin (US) 192-9 (58.76), Liveta Jasiūnaitė (Lit) 191-5 (58.35), Kelsey-Lee Barber (Aus) 189-5 (57.73), Rhema Otabor (Bah) 189-2 (57.67), Jucilene de Lima (Bra) 188-10 (57.56), Annu Rani (Ind) 183-1 (55.81), Anni-Linnea Alanen (Fin) 181-5 (55.30), Eda Tuğsuz (Tur) 181-5 (55.30), H.L. Dilhani Lekamge (SrL) 176-0 (53.66).