Unexpected silver for Flor Ruiz: The Colombian thrower achieved the biggest success of her sporting career in javelin by becoming runner-up at the world championship in Budapest this Friday, but it was in a final that she eluded the gold at the last moment.
The “culprit” was the Japanese Haruka Kitaguchi, who reached 66.73 meters on her sixth and final attempt, fighting her way to first place and, at the last moment, overtaking the Colombian Ruiz, who surprised with 65.47 meters at the beginning of the competition. Bronze went to Australia’s Mackenzie Little (63.38 meters).
The 25-year-old Kitaguchi had already won world bronze last year and came to Hungary as the best of the current season.
Flor Ruiz, 32, clearly improved her personal best of 63.84 meters. His longest throw that season was 62.05 meters.
Ninth medal in the history of Colombia
Colombia wins the ninth medal in its history at the World Athletics Championships.
Flor Ruiz is the second woman to stand on the podium at this event, after Caterine Ibargüen, who won five medals in the triple jump (two golds, one silver, and two bronzes).
There has never been a South American world medalist in the javelin throw, either men’s or women’s, and this is how the Pradera-born thrower manages to open up a new, previously uncharted path for her region’s competitors.
The one in Budapest is the fourth World Cup he has attended. He had stayed in the qualifying round for the last three games and was eliminated in the final. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, she was ninth in the final.
Her greatest achievements so far have come at regional and continental-level competitions, most notably three South American titles, but Wednesday’s stunning medal brings a new dimension to her achievements.
Another Colombian competed in the final, Mara Lucelly Murillo, who finished eleventh with 54.85 meters as the best distance.
The Brazilian Jucilene Sales De Lima was eighth with 60.34 meters.
Flor Ruiz was not among the favorites, but she was able to bring unexpected joy to Colombia after the country saw their theoretical best performances, Anthony Zambrano (400m) and Lorena Arenas (20km), disqualified in their respective tests on Sunday. March), both current Olympic silver medalists.
Colombia is already avoiding exclusion from the World Athletics Championships medal table, as was the case in Eugene (USA) last year.
