2011 World Championships in Athletics – Women's discus throw

The women's discus throw event at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Daegu Stadium on August 27 and 28.

Dani Samuels was the defending champion, but had not performed well prior to the event. Germany's Nadine Müller was the leader in the Diamond League, but it was Chinese thrower Li Yanfeng who held the best mark that season (67.98 m). Stephanie Brown Trafton entered as the reigning Olympic champion, while 2009 World medallists Yarelis Barrios and Nicoleta Grasu were other prominent competitors.Rowbottom, Mike (2011-08-19). Women’s Discus Throw - PREVIEW . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-08-28.Discus Throw 2011. IAAF (2011-08-27). Retrieved on 2011-08-28. Sandra Perković, the leading athlete earlier in the season, was absent due to a six-month ban for doping offences.World Championships preview – women’s field events . Athletics Weekly (2011-08-25). Retrieved on 2011-08-28.

Nadine Müller had the best mark in the qualifying rounds, with her sole throw of 65.54 m to make the final. Li Yanfeng and Yarelys Barrios were the next best throwers in the first round. Dani Samuels narrowly avoided elimination, while Aretha Thurmond was among those to miss the final.Rowbottom, Mike (2011-08-27). Women's Discus Throw - Qualification - Muller leads the round, Samuels squeaks through . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-08-29. In the final the following day, Li took the lead in the first round with a throw of 65.28 m and Müller followed her over the 65 m line into second place. Żaneta Glanc of Poland had an opening throw of 63.91 m, moving into third place. The top three remained unchanged after the second throw, although Li improved her lead to 66.52 m and Müller consolidated her second place with a mark of 65.97 m. Barrios of Cuba moved into third in the next round with her best mark of the competition (65.73 m) and defending champion Samuels was struck out in the final cut off. Brown Trafton threw her best (63.85 m) in round four, moving into fifth place, but the medal positions remained unchanged thereafter – Li won the gold medal, while Müller and Barrios took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.Rowbottom, Mike (2011-08-28). Women's Discus Throw - Final - Li dominates final to give China its first gold medal . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-08-29.

Although Li had won gold medals in Asian-level competitions, it was the 32-year-old's first medal of any colour on the world stage. She credited her success to her work with German coach Karl-Heinz Steinmetz and increased seasonal competition against foreign athletes.Butcher, Michael (2011-08-28). Discus champion Li Yanfeng’s German Connection . IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-08-29. Müller silver also represented her first medal at a global championships. For Barrios it was her fourth consecutive time on the major podium, having been runner-up at the two previous world championships and winner of the 2008 Olympic silver medal.

Medalists GoldSilverBronzeLi YanfengNadine MüllerYarelys Barrios

Records Prior to the competition, the established records were as follows. World record76.80Neubrandenburg, East Germany7 July 1988Championship record71.62Rome, Italy31 August 1987World leading67.98Schönebeck, Germany5 June 2011African record64.87Stellenbosch, South Africa2 March 2003Asian record71.68Beijing, China14 March 1992North, Central American and Caribbean record70.88Havana, Cuba8 May 1992South American record62.00São Caetano do Sul, Brazil23 July 2011European record76.80Neubrandenburg, East Germany7 July 1988Oceanian record68.72Auckland, New Zealand22 January 1994

Qualification standards A standardB standard 62.00 m 59.50 m

Schedule Date Time RoundAugust 27, 2011 10:05 QualificationAugust 28, 2011 19:05 Final

Results

Qualification Qualification: Qualifying Performance 62.00 (Q) or at least 12 best performers (q) advance to the final.

Rank Group Athlete Nationality #1 #2 #3 Result Notes 1 A Nadine Müller 65.54 65.54 Q 2 B Li Yanfeng 64.44 64.44 Q 3 A Yarelis Barrios 63.80 63.80 Q 4 B Żaneta Glanc 59.48 63.44 63.44 Q 5 A Tan Jian 62.26 62.26 Q 6 B Stephanie Brown Trafton 61.89 59.87 61.89 q 7 A Zinaida Sendriūtė 56.61 61.72 61.72 q 8 A Dragana Tomašević 60.45 60.45 q 9 B Denia Caballero 52.93 60.36 60.36 q 10 B Nicoleta Grasu 60.13 58.25 59.58 60.13 q 11 A Dani Samuels 59.77 60.05 59.98 60.05 q 12 A Darya Pishchalnikova 54.11 59.94 59.53 59.94 q 13 B Aretha Thurmond 59.88 59.48 59.88 14 A Ma Xuejun 55.80 59.34 59.71 59.71 15 A Gia Lewis-Smallwood 56.91 59.49 59.49 16 A Natalya Fokina-Semenova 56.73 55.16 58.27 58.27 17 B Monique Jansen 58.23 58.06 57.96 58.23 18 A Andressa de Morais 44.41 57.93 57.93 19 B Kazai Suzanne Kragbé 57.55 55.75 57.55 20 B Kateryna Karsak 57.54 57.29 57.54 21 B Harwant Kaur 55.50 56.49 52.98 56.49 22 B Elisângela Adriano 56.28 53.70 56.45 56.45 23 A Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová 53.87 51.52 53.87 24 B Karen Gallardo 51.32 52.33 53.69 53.69

Final Format: Each athlete has three attempts, then the eight best performers have three further attempts

Rank Athlete Nationality #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 Result Notes Li Yanfeng 65.28 66.52 65.50 64.32 64.34 63.83 66.52 Nadine Müller 65.06 65.97 64.08 62.55 65.97 Yarelys Barrios 61.87 65.73 63.93 63.90 65.73 SB Żaneta Glanc 63.91 62.30 63.11 62.69 62.17 60.32 63.91 Stephanie Brown Trafton 60.20 60.97 60.24 63.85 60.26 63.85 Tan Jian 60.46 61.44 61.79 62.96 61.12 62.96 Dragana Tomašević 62.26 58.97 62.48 59.03 58.63 62.48 SB Nicoleta Grasu 57.95 60.34 62.08 60.79 60.45 60.72 62.08 Denia Caballero 60.73 60.46 60.73 10 Dani Samuels 58.08 59.14 59.14 11 Darya Pishchalnikova 56.89 58.10 57.61 58.10 12 Zinaida Sendriūtė 57.30 53.53 57.30

References

External links Discus throw results at IAAF website