Discus Throw, Women

This was expected to be a three-way battle between the two-time defending gold medalist, Sandra Perković of Croatia, Cuba’s Yaimé Pérez, the 2019 World Champion, and American Valarie Allman. They had competed only once against each other all year with Allman winning, while Perković and Pérez had split four competitions against each other.

Allman and Perković led the two groups in qualifying with Allman’s 66.42 the best overall mark, Perković also trailing Indian Kamalpreet Kaur. Pérez qualified only seventh as only Allman and Kaur reached the auto-qualifier of 64 metres.

Allman was the next-to-last thrower in round one, and her 68.98 took the lead. It would be her best mark of the competition, but it would hold up and bring her the gold medal. Behind her Germany’s Kristin Pudenz threw 66.86 in round five, a personal best, to take the silver medal, while Pérez rounded out the podium with her opening round mark of 65.72, a mark that was leading until Allman stepped into the circle.

Perković never got going, finishing fourth with 65.01 in round three. Kaur placed sixth, recording 63.70 in round three. The competition was hampered by rain, which started in round two and helped Allman as she had already recorded her big throw. The competition was stopped for 55 minutes in round three, after the throwers were slipping and sliding across the ring. Allman became the third USA woman to win the discus throw, after Lillian Copeland in 1932 and Stephanie Brown-Trafton in 2008.