World champion and two-time European champion Jessica Schilder has made a sensational start to her outdoor season with the furthest women’s shot put throw in the world since 2012.
The Dutch athlete triumphed at the Keqiao Diamond League on Saturday (16) with a brilliant fifth-round throw of 21.09m.
It was her first throw over 21 metres and the furthest in the event since Valerie Adams threw 21.11m in Lucerne in 2012. She also becomes the first new addition to the 21 metre club since 2009.
It was also the furthest throw by a European since 2005.
In addition, it was a Diamond League record, a meeting record, a world lead and improved her own national record by 40cm.
Up until her record-breaking throw, she had been steady rather than spectacular, producing marks of 19.66m, 19.53m, 19.78m and 19.90m. Then came the fireworks.
"Crazy" throw
On joining the 21-metre club, she said: “I can't comprehend it. It is such a huge thing — it is crazy.”
She explained: “The first competition is a big deal for me; it is always something I find quite hard. My first throws, my coach and I were not happy, so we tried to change things.
“We tried different things and eventually it worked. My coach says a lot, and we have to filter it, but as long as he keeps talking, I’m happy and I’ll figure it out.”
Four more meeting records by Europeans
There were also meeting records set by Mohamed Abdilaahi, Mondo Duplantis, Kristjan Čeh and Mark English, plus an outdoor world lead and personal best for Mattia Furlani and a national record for Andreas Almgren at the opening Diamond League event of the season in China.
It bodes well for European athletes ahead of this summer’s 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham from 10-16 August.
Germany’s Abdilaahi won a high-quality 3000m in 7:25.77, which was also a world lead and national record. Meanwhile, in third place, Almgren set a new Swedish record of 7:26.48.
Duplantis effortlessly breezed to his customary victory in the men’s pole vault with a flawless card through a new meeting record of 6.12m. With the opposition eliminated, the familiar spectacle of Mondo targeting another world record returned.
But on this occasion, he failed three times at 6.32m, never seriously threatening to rewrite the record books again. There will doubtless be many more world record attempts from the Swedish icon as the season unfolds.
In the men’s discus, defending European champion Čeh was a dominant winner. The Slovenian was the only athlete to breach 70 metres, which he managed three times, with his best throw being a fourth-round 70.58m.
In the men’s 800m, Ireland’s evergreen Mark English weaved his way through the field with a late burst to win in 1:43.85. It was the first Diamond League victory of the 33-year-old five-time European medallist’s career.
Italy’s Mattia Furlani seized control of the men’s long jump with a superb 8.43m (+0.4m/s) in the second round. It added 4cm to the world champion’s lifetime best and nudged him tantalisingly close to Andrew Howe’s 19-year-old Italian record of 8.47m.