Sandra Perković will aim to make it threw Olympic titles in a row. If she does she will be the first female athlete in history to ever complete the feat. The strength of the women’s discus this year shows just how hard that is to do. Here’s our women’s discus preview for Tokyo.
Schedule
Saturday 31 July 01:30 UK Time (Qualification) Monday 2 August 12:00 UK time
2021 Biggest Throws
| 2021 Rankings | Distance (Metres) | Athlete | Country |
| 1 | 70.22 | Jorinde Van Klinken | Netherlands |
| 2 | 70.01 | Valarie Allman | USA |
| 3 | 68.99 | Yaimé Pérez | Cuba |
| 4 | 68.31 | Sandra Perković | Croatia |
| 5 | 67.05 | Shadae Lawrence | Jamaica |
| 6 | 66.59 | Kamalpreet Kaur | India |
| 7 | 66.4 | Liliana Cá | Portugal |
| 8 | 66.31 | Kristin Pudenz | Germany |
| 9 | 65.3 | Mélina Robert-Michon | France |
| 10 | 65.14 | Yang Chen | China |
British interest
There are no British entrants for the women’s discus.
Favourites
Jorinde Van Klinken from the Netherlands is just twenty one but by virtue of her win at the USATF Throws Fest and undefeated season so far she is one of the favourites for gold. Her 70.22m throw in Tucson, Arizona was almost nine metres more than she had ever thrown prior to this season. Despite going undefeated she has rarely competed against the very best in the world due to still being in the NCAA system and her win in Tucson is over four metres further than she has thrown anywhere else.
Looking for Championship experience then you need look no further than Yaimé Pérez of Cuba. The reigning world champion has only been defeated twice this year, in the Florence Diamond League and in Rouen, both times at the hands of Sandra Perković. She won in Doha but only by virtue of the final three format which will not be in Tokyo (Valarie Allman threw further) and did beat Perković in Hengelo.
Sandra Perković has to start as favourite, by virtue of her wins over Perez this year as well as her 68.31 throw to win in the Florence Diamond League. She knows what it takes to win major championships and could well bring the gold home for Croatia.
Valarie Allman has had a breakthrough couple of years and has never been defeated bar for the final three format in Doha. In both years she has broken seventy metres and she has thrown over 67 metres in four of her seven competitions this year. The only question marks can be that this is her first competition as one of the established stars and we will have to see how she deals with that pressure.
Denia Caballero of Cuba deserves mention due to her Rio bronze. She has not been in that form so far this year and is yet to break 65 metres. Her best is 70.65m from 2015.
Shadae Lawrence could also throw her way into medal contention provided she can get towards the 67.05 she threw at the USATF Throwsfest to finish second.
Our medal predictions
- Valarie Allman
- Sandra Perković
- Yaimé Pérez
Records
WR: 76.80m Gabriele Reinsch (1988)
OR: 72.30m Martina Hellmann (1988 Seoul)
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Featured image “Track & Field – Adidas Grand Prix – Icahn Stadium – Sandra Perkovic” by Steven Pisano is licensed under CC BY 2.0 CopyGO TO IMAGE’S WEBSITE
