Sarah Mitton wins shot put gold at World Athletics Indoor Championships
Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, Queens County, after winning the gold medal in the shot put at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow on Friday morning. (Sarah Mitton photo)
Brooklyn’s Sarah Mitton can now add world champion to her already long list of accomplishments.
The Olympic shot putter from Queens County captured the gold medal Friday morning at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
“Incredible. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” she said in an interview via Zoom from Glasgow shortly after her win.
“I’ve just been up in the top but never really on top at a world championship and now I’ve done three outdoor worlds and this is my second indoor worlds so it’s been a long time coming, so it’s just really sweet.”
Mitton beat her own Canadian record, twice: once with her fourth throw at 20.20 metres, which secured the gold medal. And then, she beat her own record again with her sixth and last throw of 20.22 metres. That was also a season’s best.
“The last one was really fun because when you’re in the lead you get to be the last thrower,” she said. “And so we know what third is, the only person that can overtake you is this girl in second. She doesn’t do it and then you’re standing there and you still have one attempt and you know you’ve just won a world indoor championships which is kind of surreal because you’re just flooded with emotion.
“And so I stood there and I had goosebumps all over my legs and I was like, ‘OK. But you still have one more attempt to make a mark and have a better throw and just increase your lead.’ I really love the sixth round. It’s the last throw of the (competition), particularly this one where it’s the very last throw of the comp and it’s just really free. Like it didn’t matter if I threw 10 metres, it didn’t matter if I threw 25, I was still gonna be the champion so I think it opens the door for a really relaxed fun throw.”
German athlete Yemeni Ogunleye captured silver with a personal best throw of 20.19 metres. American Chase Jackson won bronze with a throw of 19.67 metres.
Mitton said that making her first world indoor final in 2022 and throwing more than 19 metres for the first time at a championship really boosted her confidence. And that set her up for the success she’s had ever since.
She is ranked No. 2 in the world in the shot put. She won Canada’s first ever world medal in women’s shot put with her silver at the Budapest games in 2023. And she is a Commonwealth Games champion and Pan American Games champion.
She set a new Canadian indoor record just last week in the Czech Republic with a throw of 20.08 metres. Her personal best is 20.33 metres.
“I had usually underperformed from what I was usually capable of at these majors and I think it really just opened my eyes to be able to believe in myself that hey you’re now amongst these girls. You can break into their world. And from there, it just seems to have skyrocketed.”
And she’s been doing it all with bone chips in her right elbow.
“My right arm takes a big brunt of the throw every time. And a lot of the girls struggle with elbow issues and of course the older you get, the more speed and force that gets put through your elbow.
“Thankfully we’ve been able to manage that from a non-surgical perspective for now and everything’s been good. … Thankfully, that’s been much better than last season, so I think that’s why I might be seeing a little bit more success indoors than I did last year.”
While her family didn’t make the trip to Glasgow for the short weekend competition, they will all be in Paris for the Summer Olympics in August.
In Glasgow, she had her coach and his wife and the rest of the Canadian team cheering her on.
“She’s been a big part of my career. She’s very involved. She just brings a really good, fun energy. She’s always the loudest person in the stadium and I can hear her from a mile away. But it’s been really fun to have her here.”
She says that having this breakthrough in Glasgow sets her up nicely for the Olympics.
“I’ve had my eye on Paris for two years at least. And everything we’ve been doing in the last two years is a part of our preparation, the same thing with this championships. This was a big part and I think right now, everything’s working, everything’s coming together.”
Mitton has a few meets coming up in China and Morocco, before returning to Canada to begin high-performance training. Then there are the national championships at the end of June, before heading to Barcelona to train and prepare for the Olympics.
Before any of that, though, she’ll be taking a week off and coming home to Liverpool to visit friends and family. And she may even pop into the gym at Queens Place Emera Centre when she’s home.
“I’m excited to see everybody,” she says. “I think it’s always fun walking into Queens Place. It can be really overwhelming, because it’s a lot of people I grew up with. It’s a lot of friends and family, but it’s also just been really great. When you show up, you know everybody and it just feels like home.
“I just want to thank everyone so much for the support. I know the flood of that comes from Liverpool and Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, and all through the East Coast. But I’m working my best to get back to everyone, but I will see you all when I get home. And I just really appreciate all the messages and the support.”
Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com
Listen to QCCR’s interview with Sarah Mitton below