An American surprised another. Laulauga Tausaga deprived favorite Valarie Allman of gold in the discus throw at the World Athletics Championships, smashing her personal best of nearly four meters on Tuesday in Budapest.
The French Mélina Robert-Michon, who lived the tenth Worlds and the ninth world final of her career with exceptional longevity, at 44 years old, ranked ninth, with a best throw of 63.46m which did not allow her to get three more tries. “It’s very frustrating, I don’t miss much to get into the eighth and have three more tries. I would have liked to be able to express myself again, there was plenty to do in this competition. I had the capacity to do better, she felt. At the same time, I struggled. It’s up to me to keep working.”
Sitting comfortably at the front of the contest, Allman, whose best throw was measured at 69.23m, saw Tausaga pass her on the fifth try, when she dispatched her discus to 69.49m. Until then, the 25-year-old American had never thrown further than 65.46 m and it only dated from the beginning of the summer, at the American selections in Eugene (Oregon).
The Chinese Bin Feng, outgoing world champion, completes the podium (68.20 m). World gold continues for the moment to elude Allman (28), yet Olympic champion in title and best performer of the year (70.25 m).
