Cyprus has established itself as a nation of the throws, despite its small size, and that legacy continues with Marina Hadjicosta who took gold with 56.17m in the discus on Saturday (18).
The Cypriot was the favourite coming in to the event, and her first round throw of 54.12m proved enough to take the title despite bettering her distance in the third round.
The Netherlands’ Emma le Blansch took silver with a PB of 53.54m after taking gold in the shot put on Friday (17), while Sweden’s Sarah Berkani took bronze, also with a PB of 50.91m.
“It sounds insane to be the new European champion,” Hadjicosta said. “I was very anxious before the competition and during the qualification.
“I was also very scared because I was the European and world leader so there was a lot of people expecting things from me and I wanted to throw far. In the end, I managed the pressure well, got close to my PB and I am coming home with a gold medal, so I am just very happy and proud of myself.
“I am very thankful and honoured to represent Cyprus. I have been representing my country for about five or six years now.
“It was a very good experience to compete already at the European Throwing Cup in Cyprus [in March]. I was the youngest there, so I was still very anxious, but I managed to throw relatively well there too.”
Tara Laverty also threw an Irish U18 record of 50.23m in fourth and Martina Burcer threw a Serbian U18 record of 50.08m, also narrowly missing out on the podium in fifth.
Hadjicosta had all of her valid throws beyond 52 metres and le Blansch threw all but one beyond 50 metres for an incredible level of competition women’s discus final.
“I cannot believe it,” le Blansch said. “After gold in the shot put, I get the silver in the discus, and with such a huge PB, I improved by two meters. I have two medals - amazing! This is why I came here. I am happy that I could show people what I am capable of.
“I do not have a favourite event - I like both, discus and shot put. I enjoy both, in training and competition. I really look up to Jorinde van Klinken [discus throw world and European silver medallist and European bronze and silver medallist in shot put].
“My first throw was in the sector, so this was an excellent start and I got very relaxed. And then I showed great consistency in the next throws. You have to be relaxed to throw well.”
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