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.