What better way to start your Diamond League title defence than with a series record?
When Jessica Schilder stepped into the ring at the season opener in Shanghai/Keqiao on Saturday, she knew she was under pressure to deliver.
As reigning world and Diamond League champion, the Dutch star was very much the woman to beat in the women’s shot put.
On Saturday, she cemented that status with one of the best throws the world has seen this century.
Schilder made a modest start to the competition, slotting into second place in the early rounds as US rival Chase Jackson took an early lead.
It wasn’t until the fifth round that the stakes were raised, with Jackson and Sarah Mitton both clearing 20 metres to heap the pressure on Schilder.
The 27-year-old responded like a true champion. The Wanda Diamond League’s Official Timekeeper OMEGA marked her fifth-round effort at an astonishing 21.09m.
It was a Diamond League record, breaking Valerie Adams’ previous series best by six centimetres.
Not only that, but it was the first time any woman had thrown further than 21 metres since Adams last did so in 2012.
“I said to somebody it was either going to be 19 metres or 21. It went exactly as I hoped it would go!” said Schilder.
