Yan Ziyi couldn’t hold back the tears.
At just 18 years old, the young Chinese javelin thrower is still only making her very first steps on the global stage.
Yet on Saturday, it took her just one throw to establish herself as a new global superstar.
Though she has long been tipped as one of the sport’s most exciting prospects, Yan headed to Xiamen with modest expectations.
Having finished a respectable fifth on her Diamond League debut in Keqiao the previous year, the teenager was hoping to gain more valuable experience on the biggest stage and, ideally, land a throw of around 65 metres.
As it turned out, she had something much more impressive up her sleeve.
With her first throw of the competition, Yan sent the Chinese crowd into raptures as she cleared the 70-metre line by some distance.
The Wanda Diamond League’s Official Timekeeper OMEGA recorded the throw at 71.74m, a new Diamond League record and the second furthest throw in history.
More than just a first Diamond League win, it was a performance which announced the arrival of a potential new global champion.
And as Yan herself insisted after brushing away the tears, this was only the beginning.
“A flash in the pan is not what I want, I don’t want this 71.74 to be just a one time thing,” she said.
“The world record wasn’t in my mind before, but now I think I can push harder. I will see how it will go for the next couple of years and prepare to break the world record.”
