It鈥檚 not often that an athlete is announced as the winner, handed the trophy, flowers and their national flag to celebrate, only to find out later that organizers made a mistake and were taking it all back 鈥 including the $30,000 (U.S.) prize money.
That鈥檚 how Canada鈥檚 Sarah Mitton went from winning the Diamond League final with a throw of 20.67 metres to finishing third, after a belated protest wiped her winning throw off the board.
That regrettable experience 鈥 in the lead-up to the world athletics championships in Tokyo 鈥 is the latest Mitton has weathered in a career that has had tremendous highs and terribly timed lows, in and out of the throwing circle.
鈥淥ne thing in my career that I鈥檝e learned is how to be very resilient,鈥 said the 29-year-old Brooklyn, N.S. native, who trains in Toronto.
In 2022, Mitton became the first Canadian woman to throw over 20 metres, announcing herself as a major world contender, and went on to win silver at the world championships the following year.
鈥淔rom that moment on I just thought that was going to be a consistent thing in my life. I guess, I was a little naive to think that everything was just going to go well from once you’ve got it figured out.鈥
At last summer鈥檚 Paris Olympics, she sailed through the qualifying round with confidence 鈥 one and done 鈥 and went into the final as a favourite for gold. There, she battled a rain-slicked throwing circle 鈥 and weight of all she鈥檇 been through in recent months, including the death of her father 鈥 and it proved to be too much. She threw well below her best to finish 12th.
鈥淚t takes a lot to medal at championships. It takes a lot of sacrifice, a lot of commitment, a lot of training, and it takes everything coming together in the moment,鈥 Mitton said. 鈥淎s an athlete, people expect you to be pretty robotic and I tried my best to do that and it just didn’t play out.鈥
Mitton is throwing well this season, delivering over 20 metres at seven events, winning her second world indoor title and matching her 20.68-metre national record, which places her third on this year鈥檚 top throws list.
She鈥檚 made a subtle change to her technique, taking a quarter step to the right at the back of the circle, to give the shot more time to accelerate and make better use of her 鈥渆ngine鈥 of a right leg. It’s all designed to get more speed and power from her relatively small five-foot-six frame.
鈥Speed has kind of become my superpower so we’re always trying to find ways to make speed more accessible to me.”
She knows she needs to keep improving with top American thrower Chase Jackson knocking on the door of 21 metres 鈥 a distance not seen in the women鈥檚 field since 2011 when New Zealand鈥檚 Valerie Adams dominated the sport.
Any time an athlete changes their technique it comes with risks, but Mitton says it鈥檚 already paying off and she was trying for the bigger throws she thinks are possible in the Diamond League final three weeks ago. She thought she was in the lead with her early 20.67 throw, not suspecting she had stepped out of the circle before the shot had landed,聽so she could afford to go for broke on her later throws. The ringside official ruled it legal and that only changed after the event was over 鈥 and celebrated 鈥 when it was too late for her to do anything about it.
Now she鈥檚 looking to show what she鈥檚 capable of on the biggest world stage of the year. 鈥淧eople are going to care more about who wins the world championships than who won the Diamond League final,” she said.
Her teammates have already set the stage for success, just as she predicted they would. Racewalker Evan Dunfee won Canada’s first gold medal on the opening day and fellow throwers Camryn Rogers and Ethan Katzberg won back-to-back hammer titles 鈥 and in the most dominant manner possible.
鈥淵ou can feel the team energy shift a little big when people start winning medals,鈥 Mitton said.
Her event is part of the highly anticipated final weekend of competition with reigning world champion Marco Arop expected in the 800-metre final, Dunfee back for a second event in the 20K racewalk, the Canadian Olympic champions in the men鈥檚 4x100 relay and decathletes, Pierce LePage (reigning world champion) and Damian Warner (Tokyo Olympic champion).
鈥淲e鈥檒l be the final hurrah,鈥 Mitton said.
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