Axelina Johansson entered the ball final at the U23-EM in Tallinn as one of the pre-favorites. She had no problem living up to expectations.
In her second shot of the day, she pulled in with 17.73, that was enough for a comfortable lead. But the Swede was not finished there. Her fourth shot measured 17.85. Luckily it was, because the Dutchwoman Jessica Schilder pushed just as far and the Swede only kept her lead thanks to her second longest shot.
The gold deal looked to be a duel between Schilder and Johansson. But in the last round, the German Lea Riedel pulled off a huge blow. 17.86, personal best by about one meter and a contemptible centimeter longer than Johansson.
– This is the surprise of the surprises, what a competition it was! exclaimed SVT’s expert commentator Alhaji Jeng.
It was not clear there. Jessica Schilder, who was pushed down to a third place, pulled herself together and got off one last shock that measured 18.11. Johansson could not answer and has to settle for bronze.
Axelina Johansson’s personal best of 18.08 is the third best shot put in the Swedish athletics history.
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