Women's Field Event Preview for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest
As the summer sun warms the historic streets of Budapest, the world's athletic stage is set to light up from the 19th to the 27th of August with the World Athletics Championships. Of particular note this year are the women's field events, a spectacular showcase of strength, agility, and sheer determination. These events promise to highlight established stars and introduce us to emerging talent from across the globe. From the soaring leaps in the high jump to the power-packed throws in shot put and javelin, this preview delves into the contenders, their records, and the electrifying moments we anticipate in the heart of Hungary.
Women’s long jump:
Larissa Iapichino won three Wanda Diamond League competition in Florence with 6.79m, Stockolm with 6.69m and Monaco with her PB of 6.95m and claimed the European Under 23 gold medal in Espoo with 6.93m. The 21-year-old Italian star is looking to follow in the footsteps of her mother Fiona May, who won two world titles in Gothenburg 1995 and Edmonton 2001.
Ackelia Smith from Jamaica set the world seasonal best with 7.08m in Norman and won the NCAA outdoor title with 6.88m in Austin.
Olympic finalist Tara Davis Woodhall came close to her PB with her seasonal best of 7.07m in Fayetteville and won the US title with 6.87m. Davis Woodall finished second in Monaco with 6.88m and in London with 6.72m in London.
Quanesha Burks finished second at the US Championships in Eugene with 6.82m and won her first Diamond League competition with her lifetime best of 6.98m.
Ivana Vuleta from Serbia is aiming to win her third world outdoor medal after finishing third in Moscow 2013 and Beijing 2015. Vuleta claimed two world indoor gold medals in Birmingham 2018 and Belgrade 2022, the Olympic bronze medal with 7.08m in Rio de Janeiro 2016, the European outdoor gold medal in Munich with 7.06m, the European Indoor title in Belgrade with her lifetime best of 7.24m and five Diamond League Trophies in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2022. The Serbian star set her seasonal best with 6.86m at the Monaco Diamond League meeting.
Another Serbian jumper who could fight for a spot in the final is Milica Gardasevic, who won the European Under 20 gold medal in Grosseto 2017 and improved her lifetime best to 6.91m at the Balkan Championships in Kraljevo this year.
Jazmin Sawyers from Great Britain won the European Indoor gold medal in Istanbul with the British indoor record with 7.00m. Sawyers also won two European outdoor bronze medals in Amsterdam 2016 and Munich 2022.
Ese Brume from Nigeria has been a consistent performer at major championships over the years winning two bronze medals at the World Championships in Doha 2019 with 6.91m and at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 6.97m and a silver medal at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 with 7.02m.
Women’s triple jump:
Yulimar Rojas is seeking her fourth consecutive world outdoor gold medal in the women’s triple jump after her previous three triumphs in London 2017 with 14.91m, in Doha 2019 with 15.37m and Eugene 2022 with 15.47m. Rojas won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2021 improving the world outdoor record with 15.67m and the World Indoor gold medal in Belgrade 2022 with the world indoor record of 15.74m. This year Rojas won two Diamond League competitions in Oslo with 14.91m and Chorzow with 15.18m and the CAC Games in El Salvador with her seasonal best of 15.18m.
The major contenders for a spot on the podium are Leyanis Perez Hernandez and Liadagmis Povea from Cuba, Jasmine Moore from the USA, and Maryna Beck Romanchuk from the Ukraine.
Hernandez won the silver medal at the CAC Games in El Salvador with a PB of 14.98m and finished second in Oslo with 14.87m and third in Chorzow with 14.67m.
Povea is ranked third in the world seasonal list at the CAC Games in El Salvador with 14.85m. The Cuban athlete placed fifth at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo and at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade.
Moore won the double titles in the long and triple jumps at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. The 22-year-old US jumper improved her indoor PBs in the long jump with 7.03m and in the triple jump with the North American record with 15.12m.
Beck Romanchuk started her career as a long jumper winning the world silver medal in Doha and the European Indoor title in Torun 2021. The Ukrainian athlete started focusing on the triple jump in 2022, when she won the world indoor silver medal in Belgrade with 14.74m and the European outdoor gold medal in Munich with her PB of 15.02m.
Last year’s Commonwealth Games champion Shanieka Ricketts from Jamaica will aim to win her third medal at the World Championships after finishing second in Doha 2019 with 14.92m and Eugene 2022 with 14.89m.
The other potential contenders for a spot in the final are Thea Lafond from Dominica, second at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and fifth at the World Championships in Eugene in 2022, Tori Franklin and Keturah Orji, who finished first and second at this year’s US Championships.
Women’s high jump:
Nicola Olyslagers from Australia leads the entry list with her world seasonal best of 2.02m set at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting. Olyslagers won nine of her ten competitions this year, including Paris with 2.00m, Turku with 2.01m and Monaco with 1.99m. She lost only once in Chorzow, where she finished second with 1.98m. The Australian jumper is looking to add her second major international medal after claiming the Olympic silver medal with the Oceanian record of 2.02m.
The other Australian high jumper Eleanor Patterson will aim her second consecutive medal one year after her world gold medal with 2.02m. Patterson was sidelined by an injury last winter, but she made a successful come-back this summer by clearing 1.96m in Monaco and 1.95m in Heilbronn.
Yaroslava Mahuchik from the Ukraine will seek her first world gold medal after finishing second in Doha 2019 with a world under 20 record of 2.04m and in Eugene 2022 with 2.02m. Mahuchik won four of her six competitions in Nairobi with 2.00m, Rabat with 2.01m, Hengelo with 2.00m and at the European Team Championships Second Division in Chorzow with 1.97m.
Iryna Gerashchenko won the first Diamond League competition of her career with 1.98m in Chorzow and finished second in Lausanne equalling her PB with 2.00m and in Monaco with 1.96m.
Another Ukrainian jumper Yuliya Levchenko returned to her best form by finishing third with 1.98m in Chorzow.
Serbian 18-year-old rising star Angelina Topic improved her lifetime best to 1.97m in the Paris Diamond League meeting and won the European Under 20 title in Jerusalem with 1.90. Angelina is following in the footsteps of her father Dragutin Topic, European high jump champion with 2.37m in Split 1990, and her mother Biljana Mitrovic, world bronze medal in the triple jump in Berlin 2009.
Morgan Lake from Great Britain improved the national indoor record to 1.99m and jumped 1.97m in Turku.
Former world indoor champion Vashti Cunningham is seeking her second world outdoor medal four years after third place with 1.98m in Doha 2019.
The other potential candidates for a spot in the final are Daniela Stanciu from Romania (seasonal best 1.96m), and 2022 world indoor bronze medallist Nadezhda Dubovitskaya from Kazakhstan, and Lamara Distin from Jamaica, Commonwealth Games champion in Birmingham 2022 with 1.95m.
Women’s pole vault:
Katie Moon will be seeking her third global title after winning gold medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 4.90m and at the World Championships with 4.85m. Moon won three Diamond League competitions in Doha with 4.81m, in Florence with 4.71m and Lausanne with 4.82m and the US title with her seasonal best of 4.90m.
Sandi Morris, training partner of Moon under the guidance of Brad Walker in Atlanta, will aim to win another world medal after finishing second three times in London 2017, Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022. Morris set her seasonal best of 4.71m in Doha.
The US team also features Bridget Williams, who finished fourth at the US Championships in Eugene this year and set her seasonal best of 4.71m in Lucerne, and 18-year-old rising star Hana Moll, world under 20 champion in Cali 2022 and third at the US Championships in Eugene with 4.61m.
Wilma Murto won the European outdoor gold medal in Munich with 4.85m and the European Indoor title with 4.80m. The Finnish pole vaulter won her first Diamond League competition in London with 4.80m beating Moon on countback.
Eliza McCartney from New Zealand, Olympic bronze medallist in Rio de Janeiro 2016, set the second best mark in the world this outdoor season with 4.85m in Shifflange.
Nina Kennedy from Australia will be seeking her second world outdoor medal one year after finishing third at the World Championships in Eugene with 4.80m. Kennedy won the Diamond League final in Zurich in 2022 with 4.81m and in Paris Charlety this year with 4.77m.
Tina Sutej from Slovenia also preformed very well in the major international events after winning bronze medals at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade and at the European Championships in Munich in 2022 with 4.75m. The 34.year-old Slovenian pole vaulter set her seasonal best of 4.76m in Doha.
Ekaterini Stefanidi from Greece won the Olympic title in Rio de Janeiro 2016, the World Championships in London 2017 with her PB of 4.91m and the European title in Berlin 2018. Stefanidi improved her seasonal best to 4.62m at the London Diamond League meeting.
Alysha Newman from Canada won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast 2018 and improved the national record to 4.82m in Paris later that year.
The line-up also features Amalie Svabikova from Czech Republic, European Indoor bronze medallist in Istanbul 2023 with 4.70m and finished second in Ostrava with 4.64m, Margot Chevrier from France, second at the Paris Diamond League meeting with 4.71m, Olivia Mctaggart, who cleared 4.71m at the National Championhips in Auckland, Roberta Bruni, Italian record holder with 4.72m in Rovereto last year and national champion with, Angelica Moser from Switzerland, European indoor gold medallist with 4.75m and winner at this year’s World University Games in Chengdu with 4.62m, Holly Bradshaw, Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo 2021 with 4.85m, and Molly Caudery from Great Britain, national champion in Manchester with 4.71m.
Women’s shot put:
US shot putter Maggie Ewen leads the world seasonal list with a mark of 20.45m set at the Los Angeles Grand Prix last May. Ewen won the Diamond League Final in Zurich with 19.41m and the US Championships in Eugene with 19.92m. She showed her versatility last May when she improved her PB in the hammer throw with 75.10m.
Chase Ealey won the world indoor silver medal in Belgrade with 20.22m, the US title with her PB of 20.51m, the world title in Eugene with 20.49m and the Diamond League final in Zurich with 20.19m last year. Ealey finished third at the US Championships in Eugene with 19.75m.
Auriol Dongmo from Portugal is aiming her first world outdoor medal after winning the world indoor title in Belgrade with 20.43m and two European indoor gold medals in Torun 2021 and Istanbul 2022. The Portuguese shot putter won at the Paris Diamond League with 19.72m and at the European Team Championships in Chorzow with 19.07m.
Lijao Gong from China is seeking her eighth medal at the World Championships after finishing first in London 2017 and Doha 2019, second in Beijing 2015 and Eugene 2022, third in Berlin 2009, Daegu 2011 and Moscow 2013. Gong is currently ranked third in the world seasonal list with 20.06m set at the National Championships last June.
Sarah Mitton from Canada won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and set the national record with 20.33m last year in Lengley. Mitton won the first Diamond League competition of her career in Oslo this year with 19.54m.
Danniell Thomas Dodd from Jamaica won two silver medals at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham 2018 and at the World outdoor Championships in Doha 2019. This year Thomas Dodd set a seasonal best of 19.77m in Los Angeles.
Jessica Schilder enjoyed a great season last year winning the world bronze in Eugene and the European gold medal with a national record of 20.24m.
The line-up also features Axelina Johansson from Sweden, NCAA outdoor champion in Austin with 19.28m, Fanny Roos from Sweden, European indoor champion in Torun 2021, Sara Gambetta from Germany, European indoor silver medallist in Istanbul 2023, Yemisi Ogunleye from Germany, who improved her seasonal best to 19.31m, Adelaide Aquilla from the USA, second at the Bislett Games in Oslo with 19.17m and at the US Championships in Eugene with 19.02m, and Maddison Lee Wesche from New Zealand, world under 20 champion in Tampere 2018.
Women’s discus throw:
Valarie Allman is seeking her first world title after winning the Olympic gold in Tokyo with 68.98m and the world bronze medal in Eugene with 68.30m. The US discus thrower also won the past two editions of the Diamond League Final in Zurich in 2021 and 2022. This year she claimed two wins at Diamond League meetings in Florence with 65.96m and Paris with 69.04m and set the world seasonal lead with 70.25m in San Diego last April.
Croatian legend Sandra Perkovic is aiming to add another medal to her collection which already includes two gold medals in Moscow 2013 and London 2017, two silver medals in Beijing 2015 and Eugene 2022 and a bronze medal in Doha 2019. She also won two Olympic gold medals in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016, six European gold medals in Barcelona 2010, Helsinki 2012, Zurich 2014, Amsterdam 2016, Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022. This year she competed three times in the Diamond League finishing first in Stockolm with 64.49m, second in Paris with 65.18m and third in Oslo with 65.26m.
Bin Feng from China will defend the world title she won in Eugene last year with her lifetime best of 69.12m.
Jorinde Van Klinken is looking to improve on her fourth place at last year’s World Championships in Eugene. The Dutch thrower won the bronze medal in the shot put and finished fourth in the discus throw at the European Championships in Munich 2022. This year she won the NCAA title for the Oregon Ducks in Austin with 65.55m and her first Diamond League competition of her career with 66.77m in Oslo.
Yaimé Perez from Cuba set the second best performance in the world this year with 67.44m at the New York Grand Prix.
Kristin Pudenz from Germany won two silver medals in Tokyo with 66.96m and at the European Championships in Munich 2022 with 67.87m. This year the German thrower took wins at the European Team Championships in Chorzow with 66.84m and at the German Championships in Kassel with 65.98m. The German team is also represented by Shanice Craft, European bronze medallist in Berlin 2018, and Claudine Vita, European bronze medallist in Munich 2022.
French 44-year-old veteran Melina Robert Michon already won two world medals (silver in Moscow 2013 and silver in London) the Olympic silver in Rio de Janeiro 2016. She set her seasonal best of 65.49m in Montreuil last June.
The other athletes to watch are Laulauga Tausaga, second at the US Championships in Eugene with 65.46m, Daisy Osakue, Olympic finalist in Tokyo and Italian record holder this year with 65.47m, and Liliana Ca, fifth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021.
Women’s hammer throw:
USA’s Brooke Anderson will be aiming to win her second world title one year after claiming the gold medal on home soil with 78.96m. Anderson set her lifetime best to 80.17m in Tucson last May becoming the third best hammer thrower in history. Anderson won nine of her ten competitions this year, including the World Championships in Eugene with 78.65m, two Diamond League meetings in Paris with 77.13m and Chorzow with 75.40m and the Continental Tour competition in Turku with 76.45m.
Camryn Rogers from Canada won the world silver medal in Eugene with 75.52m and the Commonwealth Games silver medal with 74.08m. Rogers improved the Commonwealth record to 78.62m this year in Los Angeles and threw beyond the 76 metres in all of her eleven competitions.
The US team features Janee Kassanavoid and DeAnna Price, who reached the world championships podium winning the bronze medal in Eugene 2022 and the gold in Doha 2019 respectively. Price finished second at the US Championships with 78.18m beating Kassanavoid (76.44m).
Anita Wlodarczyk from Poland made her comeback this year after a serious injury and surgery, which sidelined her from the World Championships. Wlodarczyk won three Olympic gold medals, four world titles, four European gold medals and was the first woman in history to break the 80 metres barrier. The Polish thrower set a world record of 82.29m at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and improved this mark to 82.98m at the Kamila Skolimowska in Warsaw two weeks later.
China’s Zheng Wang won two silver medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 77.03m and at the World Championships in London 2017 with 75.98m.
Sara Fantini from Italy finished fourth at the World Championships in Eugene with 73.18m and won the bronze medal at the European Championships in Munich with 71.56m. She improved the Italian record to 75.77m in Madrid last year. This year she won at the European Team Championships in Chorzow with a seasonal best of 73.26m.
The other top contenders are Bianca Ghelber from Romania, European champion in Munich and Silja Kosonen from Finland, world under 20 champion in Nairobi 2021.
Women’s javelin throw:
World bronze medallist Haruka Kitaguchi from Japan set the world seasonal best and the national record of 67.04m at the Memorial Kamila Skolimowska in Chorzow. Kitaguchi also won top competitions in Paris with 65.09m, in Ostrava with 63.72m and in Lucerne with 62.52m.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist Mackenzie Little from Australia also showed her good form by winning the first Diamond League competition of her career in Lausanne with 65.70m. Little also finished second in Chorzow with 64.50m.
Little’s compatriot Kelsey Lee Barber won two world gold medals in Doha 2019 with 66.56m and Eugene 2022 with 66.91m and the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo 2021.
Sigrid Borge from Norway set the world seasonal best with 66.50m in Halle.
Elina Tzengko from Greece won the European gold medal in Munich 2022 with 65.81m, the European under 20 in Tallin 2021 and the European under 23 in Espoo 2023.
Adriana Vilagos from Serbia won two European under 20 gold medals in Nairobi 2021 and Cali 2022, the European under 20 gold medal in Jerusalem 2023 and the European silver medal in Munich behind Tzengko.
The other athletes to look out for are Lina Muze-Sirma, sixth at the World Championships in Eugene, Tori Peeters from New Zealand, six-time national champion and third at the Diamond League meeting in Chorzow, and Kathryn Mitchell from Australia, sixth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
