Sarah Mitton places 2nd in shot put at Diamond League Final to end remarkable season | CBC Sports
Canadian record holder and reigning national champion Sarah Mitton capped her memorable shot put season with a second-place performance at the Weltklasse Zürich Diamond League Final on Wednesday.
The native of Brooklyn, N.S., had a best throw of 19.56 metres on the first of her six attempts on Sechselautenplatz, one of the city’s most famous squares on the shore of Lake Zurich.
However, Mitton endured some struggles thereafter with three no-throws and another attempt measuring 18.85.
Chase Ealey of the United States topped the field of six with a best throw of 20.19 for her 11th victory in as many outdoor events in 2022 that included five wins on the professional track and field circuit and three over Mitton.
WATCH | Mitton rides 19.56-metre throw to 2nd place in Zurich:
Winners across 32 disciplines at the two-day event in Switzerland take home $30,000 US in prize money and receive a wild-card entry to next year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Auriol Dongmo of Portugal threw 19.46 on her third try Wednesday and finished third.
Mitton, who lives and trains in Toronto, will take home $12,000 from Wednesday’s performance in Switzerland. She began her sensational 2022 campaign in early February with an indoor Canadian record of 19.16 in New York, topping Brittany Crew’s 18.81.
Commonwealth, NACAC titles
Three months later, Mitton’s 19.58 effort at the Golden Horseshoe Prep Meet in Hamilton surpassed Crew’s 19.28 from 2019.
On June 25, Mitton upped the record to 20.33 in Langley, B.C., for her second Canadian title at the senior level.
The 26-year-old went on to win gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and NACAC Championships in August, throwing 20.15 at the latter event in the Bahamas. Mitton’s other season highlights include second- and third-place finishes, respectively, at Diamond League meets in Stockholm and Silesia, Poland.
WATCH | Mitton wins Commonwealth Games gold:
Fellow Canadian Django Lovett competes in men’s high jump later Wednesday.
The 30-year-old from Surrey, B.C., won his second national title earlier this summer. In August, he cleared 2.25 metres to win at NACAC and was also victorious at one of five Diamond League competitions and sixth at worlds.
On Thursday, veteran sprinters Aaron Brown and Andre De Grasse and middle-distance runner Marco Arop will attempt to capture the first Diamond League Trophy by a Canadian since shot putter Dylan Armstrong of Kamloops, B.C., on Sept. 16, 2011.
The previous year, one-time world No. 1 hurdler Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Whitby, Ont., became Canada’s inaugural Diamond League champion when the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist stopped the clock in 12.54 seconds in the women’s 100 at the Memorial Van Damme competition in Belgium the day after her 28th birthday.
WATCH | Brown secures berth in 200m final at Diamond League Final:
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