Uzbek Shahinakhon Yigitalieva shouts after the javelin as if she could get it to fly half a meter further – to no avail. 43.12 meters are not enough to overtake Venezuelan Naibys Daniela Morillo Gil (photo above). The two had previously been in a head-to-head race that ended in a 40-minute victory at the Stade de France on Friday evening. at the Paralympics Nobody in Paris expected.
“Before the competition, I would not have expected that 43 meters would be thrown. These are distances that have not been thrown in our country for a few years,” said German javelin thrower Lise Petersen after the competition.
The competition took on a life of its own, now focusing only on the Uzbek and the Venezuelan, when Yigitalieva broke the Paralympic record in her fifth attempt and overtook Morillo Gil. At 43.09 meters, this throw was almost four meters further than her previous attempt.
© REUTERS/Umit Bektas
This performance seemed to release unimagined strength in her competitor from Venezuela. In her last attempt, she also surpassed her previous best attempt by almost two meters and broke the Paralympic record that had just been set. At this point, the audience could hardly stay in their seats. With each attempt, an audible murmur went through the rows, followed by thunderous applause.
The tension in the javelin competition reaches its peak when Yigitalieva steps onto the purple tartan track for the last time – knowing that she only has one last chance to throw the javelin on course for gold. Her throw is far, but not far enough. The disappointment is written all over the 15-year-old’s face. “This time I won silver. I’ll try to win gold at the next Paralympics,” said the Paralympics debutante after her competition.
Her competitor from Venezuela is all the happier. “I’m super happy and very emotional. The competition was very close, but we were able to break the Paralympic record for a second time,” said the 24-year-old. After she was in the lead for a while and got a taste of gold, she didn’t want to give up with her Venezuelan strength.
The German javelin thrower Lise Petersen, who finished in 8th place, also sees the competition as a success. “I didn’t know what to expect and it was more than I expected,” said the 19-year-old. The athlete was also enthusiastic about the atmosphere in the stadium. She was particularly pleased that the javelin throw enjoyed the full attention of the audience that evening – a rare luxury. Otherwise, throwing events would often be lost in the wake of parallel running events. “That was really cool,” she summed up the evening.
