Olympic silver medallist Kristin Pudenz and Henrik Janssen claimed discus victories at the German Winter Throwing Championships in cold and snowy conditions in Halle on Sunday (16) as momentum builds towards next month’s Nicosia 2025 European Throwing Cup.
Pudenz, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist, opened her season with a winning throw of 61.59m, edging out Marike Steinacker, who posted 61.36m. The close contest highlighted Germany’s strength in the women’s discus as both athletes set an early benchmark for the season.
"Hats off to Marike too. Especially in these temperatures, it wasn't so easy to achieve such distances. I think we both managed it quite well," said Pudenz as quoted by Leichtathletik.de.
In the men’s discus, Henrik Janssen took victory with a best effort of 64.43m, holding off Clemens Prüfer, who registered 63.55m.
Meanwhile, in the javelin, European U23 record-holder Max Dehning secured the title with a solid 79.61m, demonstrating promising early-season form after undergoing surgery in the off-season.
This year's European Throwing Cup takes place on 15-16 March in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia where the event will remain for the next three editions.
The event will also be streamed live on the European Athletics website.