Latvia’s Anete Sietiņa shocked an illustrious field to win silver in the women’s javelin final at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Saturday (20).
Two years after finishing fourth at the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships, she produced the competition of her career to claim her first senior international medal at the National Stadium.
It is Latvia's second ever medal at the World Athletics Championships, the other being Laura Ikauniece-Admidiņa's bronze in Beijing 2015.
There was little sign of what was to come in the early rounds as she managed two 59-metre throws. But in the fifth round, she vaulted into the bronze medal position with 63.35m.
With confidence flowing, she then unleashed a final-round personal best of 64.64m to secure silver. In a competition full of surprises, Ecuador’s Juleisy Angulo struck gold with 65.12m, while Australia’s Mackenzie Little repeated her Budapest 2023 result by taking bronze with 63.38m.
Sietina finally fulfills early promise
Sietiņa is a former winner of world U18 bronze, European U23 silver, and European U20 silver medals, but this is the first time the 29-year-old has fulfilled her early promise on the senior stage.
Elsewhere, 2022 European champion Elina Tzengko of Greece finished fifth with 62.72m, two-time European silver medallist Adriana Vilago of Serbia placed eighth with 61.29m, and European champion and world leader Victoria Hudson of Austria ended down in tenth with 59.52m.
"It's like a dream but I deserve it," said the thrilled Latvian.
"All the work I put in, it's so much and it's hard, so it means everything. Throwing 64.64m is the magic number and my PB. My last one was in 2017, such a long time it feels like the Titanic: 'It's been 84 years.'
"I've been waiting that long. Since my fourth place in Budapest, I just worked smarter, not harder and I think fourth was a big motivation for this moment. I knew that I was capable of throwing far. It's a magic day in Tokyo."