US thrower Alyssa Wilson in action at the IAAF World U20 Championships (© Getty Images)
Jorinde van Klinken must have thought she had done enough to win the European U20 shot put title last year when she recorded a lifetime best of 16.89m in the sixth round.
But Julia Ritter still had one attempt remaining and with the very last throw of the final, the German produced a magnificent competitive effort of 17.24m – a lifetime best by 45 centimetres – to immediately recapture the lead from Van Klinken, and the title with it.
Ritter has since graduated into the senior ranks but Van Klinken has another bite of the cherry in her penultimate season as a junior. The Dutch thrower leads the world U20 outdoor lists with 17.28m albeit by a fine margin in an event which is one of the most competitive based on entry marks.
The pre-competition favourite could be reigning bronze medallist Alyssa Wilson from the United States. Like Van Klinken, Wilson is an excellent all-rounder and is also entered for the discus and the hammer.
Wilson went two centimetres in excess of Van Klinken’s world U20 lead during the indoor season but her lifetime best puts her nearly half a metre ahead after winning the Pan-American U20 title last year with 17.70m.
Asian U20 champion Zhang Linru from China, who is third on the world U20 lists with 17.15m, is another prospective contender. World U18 champion Selina Dantzler, who will be looking to surpass the 17-metre line for the first time, leads the German challenge in Tampere.
New Zealand has an acclaimed tradition in this event and their new find is Maddison Lee-Wesche. The 19-year-old didn’t make it through qualifying at the 2015 World U18 Championships or the 2016 World U20 Championships but she is much improved this season, recently winning the Mannheim Junior Gala with 17.00m.
Steven Mills for the IAAF
