Polish thrower Anita Wlodarczyk set the fifth World Record (WR) of her career on Day 4 of Athletics at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, becoming the third athlete to set a WR in Track and Field after Almaz Ayana (10,000m) and Wayde Van Niekerk (400m) set the pace in their respective events.
The three-time European Champion claimed her first Olympic GOLD with her new WR of 82.29m on Monday, August 15, further underlining her dominance in the event and improving on her Silver win from London four years ago, and 6th place finish at Beijing 2008.
China’s Wenxiu Zhang took Silver in a Season’s Best (SB) of 76.75m, while Great Britain’s Sophie Hitchon improved on her National Record (NR) to win the Bronze medal with 74.54m.
Wlodarcyzk became the first woman to throw beyond 80m when she threw a WR of 81.08m at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Throws Festival in Cetniewo last year.
The reigning World and European Champion, who has been unbeaten in more than two years, opened her campaign in Rio with a distance of 76.35m, before erasing the Olympic Record (OR) with an impressive throw of 80.40m at her second attempt.
However that was only an indication of things to come as the Pole went all out in her third attempt, spinning eight times before letting go of her implement to record the best distance the world has ever known, her WR of 82.29m. She was fouled at her fourth attempt before throwing the second farthest throw in history, 81.74m on her fifth.
Teammate Pawel Fajdek will be expected to dominate the men’s event when competition kicks off on Wednesday.
