Friday 26 / July / 2024
Rio de Janeiro: Croatia's Sandra Perkovic flirted with disaster before snatching gold in women's discus on Tuesday, successfully defending her London Games title despite fouling five of her six throws in the final.
The 26-year-old Croatian was the hot favourite heading into the final but was on the brink of early elimination after fumbling her first two throws.
Perkovic appeared nervy but dug deep to hurl her third effort 69.21 metres and retain her crown, winning by 2.48 metres ahead of rivals who never looked like matching her.
Perkovic, who has dominated women's discus since London, becomes only the second woman ever to successfully defend her Olympic discus title.
France's 37-year-old Melina Robert-Michon set a national record of 66.73 metres to take silver, becoming the European country's oldest ever Olympic medal winner in athletics.
Cuba's Denia Caballero, who won a surprise victory at last year's world championships, had to settle for bronze.
