Anita Márton wins silver at the shot putting World Championships

After the bronze win by Balázs Baji, another Hungarian wins a medal: Anita Márton won a silver medal at the World Championship in Athletics in London. Márton secured her position in the last round, where she levelled up from the fourth place to the second. The shot putter topped her best put by 60 cm in the last round, eventually ranking second with 19.49 meters, reports index.hu.

Anita Márton gave strong proof at the qualifying round on Tuesday that she has great potential: at her first attempt, she threw 18.76, which got her to the finals. This was the third best put of the qualifying round, the best was thrown by Gong Lijiao (18.97), the second best by the American Michelle Carter (18.92). The two competitors were her best rivals in the finals too, along with the Jamaican Thomas-Dodd.

‘I was competing for a medal here. It was a very tough competition, but I expected to be among the top three, as I was third on the world ranking list. It was a great joy to feel and hear the spectators, there were a lot of Hungarian fans rooting for me. My silver and Balázs Baji’s bronze means a lot to Hungary. I was third all the way when in the fifth round the Jamaican bested me and I fell back to the fourth place. I knew I was able to get back and to get above 19, and I did it’ – said Márton.

Since the 2015 championships, Márton won a medal at each world championships that she took part in. In 2016, she placed second at the indoor world championships, at the outdoor world championships last year, she placed second too, and she won a bronze at Rio. She started this year’s season with a gold at the indoor Europe championships.

In the history of Hungarian world championships, this is the second medal won by an athlete woman. The first was won by Rita Ináncsi at the 1995 championships in Goteborg. She placed third in 7-round.

A round-by-round recap

During the competition, there was a heavy rainfall in London, which represented a difficulty for shot putters. They can get cold easily and the dump might become slippery.

1^st round: Anita Márton starts with 18.50 metres, which is promising, ranking her fourth. Gong leads with 19.16, Carter scores 18.82, Danniel Thomas-Dodd 18.70. There is only one other possible threat represented by Kao, who got over 18. Saunders’ attempt was invalid.

2^nd round: Márton improves her put, now she’s at 18.89, placing second. Gong improves too, now she leads with 19.35. Carter improved only with 4 centimetres, so she is third with 18.86.

3^rd round: This time, she couldn’t break her record, her put was 18.65. However, Carter outranked Márton with 19.14. Thomas-Dodd got the fourth place with 18.76.

4^th round: Márton couldn’t improve her put in this round either: her put was 18.33. Luckily, the rain hampers the efforts of her rivals too.

5^th round: Márton arises, but she cannot get further with her 18.54, and now Thomas-Dodd is ahead of her, beating her with only 2 cm. No worries, though, it is Márton’s speciality to make the best out of the last attempts, she must trust this now.

6^th round: Thomas-Dodd could not put higher, but Márton could with 19.49 metres. Carter could not best the Hungarian, thus Márton won a silver medal.

The best of the last rounds

The shot putter from Szeged has the true competitive spirit, she is able to concentrate excellently, scores the best in the riskiest situations, and is able to get better round-by-round. At the world championships two years ago, she ranked fourth with a country record with 19.48, at the indoor Europe championships in 2015 she was by far the best and in 2016 she was second. At the Rio Olympics, she had great achievements, winning a bronze medal, breaking a new personal record: she put 19.87.

Her performance was well-balanced this season, winning medals in streaks at the indoor season, ranking first at the World Indoor Tour, and she defended her title at the Europe Championships at Belgrade. She was great during the outdoor season too: she won the Gyula Memorial at home and was first in the disciplines points race with two second, one third and one fourth place at the Diamond League.

Her goal in each season is to score over 20 metres, which isn’t impossible since she is progressing very well and she was close to achieving this at Rio. Her best this year was 19.63, though she had no real chances to perform this well this time in these conditions.

Márton is a country champion in athletics, shot putting, discus throwing and weightlifting.

Results:
Women’s shot putting:
1. Gong Lijiao (China) 19,94 m
2. Anita Márton (Hungary) 19,49
3. Michelle Carter (United States) 19,14

Women’s 400 m:
1. Phyllis Francis (United States) 49.92 sec
2. Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrein) 50.06  sec
3. Allyson Felix (United States) 50.08 sec

Men’s 400 m hurdle:
1. Karsten Warholm (Norwegia) 48.35 sec
2. Yasmani Copello (Turkey) 48.49 sec
3. Kerron Clement (United States) 48.52 sec

featured photo: MTI/EPA/Diego Azubel

Source: index.hu