Jessica Schilder once again set a Dutch record during the World Athletics Championships in Eugene in the US on Saturday night. On her World Cup debut, the 23-year-old Volendam took bronze in the shot put, with a distance of 19.77 meters in two of the six attempts. Canadian Sarah Mitton scored the same distance, but her second shot was less far and so the bronze went to Schilder. It is the second medal for the Dutch athletics team this World Cup: on the opening day, the relay team took mixed silver in the 4×400 meters.
27-year-old American Chase Ealey took the world title with a punch of 20.49 on her first attempt. 33-year-old Chinese Olympic champion and title holder Lijiao Gong got stuck at 20.39 meters, also on the first attempt, and won the silver.
Schilder made his international breakthrough this year. In March she also won a bronze medal, with a distance of 19.48 meters at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. And at the Dutch National Championships in Apeldoorn at the end of June, she recorded 19.68 meters, to improve the same Dutch record this Saturday.
De Volendam is the first Dutch woman to win a shot put medal at the World Athletics Championships. Rutger Smith preceded her among the men. The Groninger grabbed a silver medal during the 2005 World Cup in Helsinki, Finland and won bronze at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan.