The Astor Theatre is holding a watch party next Friday, Aug. 9 for the shot put final of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Brooklyn’s Sarah Mitton is seen during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. (Photo by Mark Blinch/COC)
Sarah Mitton’s hometown fans are getting ready to cheer on the Brooklyn native as she goes for shot put gold in Paris.
The Region of Queens compiled a “Cheers from Home” video featuring community members rooting for her. And, the Astor Theatre has organized a watch party for the shot put final on Fri., Aug. 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. so that people can get together and root for the pride of Queens County.
The watch party is free for everyone.
Jerri Southcott, the Astor’s executive director, said the theatre held a similar viewing party for the Euro Cup.
“And we had a lot of people reach out to us in the commnity about ‘Could we all get together and cheer on our hometown hero?’ So we thought this would be a great opportunity to cheer on Sarah Mitton, really proud as a community to get behind her.”
Mitton will be competing in the qualification round the day before. The shot put final is set to begin on Friday at 2:37 p.m.
Mitton is the reigning world indoor champion and Canadian record holder. She also holds the title as throwing the best distance so far this year at 20.68 metres.
She captured the gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championship in March, where she beat her own Canadian record, twice. She beat it again two months later at a meet in Pennsylvania.
Southcott says she’s excited to have the community cheer on Mitton at the Astor.
“We’ll have concessions open and we’ll get the community together. I think everybody is going to be on the edge of their seats. Some of us, me included, will be the first time watching shot put, so that’s interesting. Really, really proud of her.”
And to help get ready for the watch party at the Astor, you can pick up a signed copy of a Sarah Mitton print from Queens Place Emera Centre.
Queens Place is selling a limited number of the autographed prints for $10 each. Proceeds will go to the Region of Queens Recreation for All program, which helps those in lower incomes participate in the municipality’s fitness facilities and programs.
Southcott is expecting a good turnout next Friday.
“We had a number of people reach out and say, ‘Wow, what a great idea.’ And really hoping to see a good strong support in the community to come out and cheer her on. It’s nice to be together.”
Sarah Mitton was tops in the shot put at the Canadian Athletics trials in Montreal last week. The four-time Canadian champion is headed to the Summer Olympics in Paris. (Mundo Sport Image via Athletics Canada Facebook)
Queens County Olympian Sarah Mitton is on her way to Paris.
The 28-year-old world champion shot putter from Brooklyn qualified recently for the Canadian track and field team that will be going to the Summer Olympics July 26 to Aug. 11.
Her throw of 19.62 metres at the Canadian Olympic trials secured her fourth straight Canadian title.
She owns the world’s longest throw this year and a Canadian record at 20.68 m.
Mitton set that mark in March when she captured gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championship in Glasgow. She is also a Commonwealth Games champion, a Pan American Games champion and a silver medallist at the world championships.
In early June, she also captured top spot at the World Athletics Continental Tour in New York City, with a top throw of 20.15 m, beating her closest competitor by more than a metre.
“This time, it just feels totally different,” Mitton said in a Canadian Olympic team news release. “We’re preparing more for a medal, and that’s just a totally different feeling going into the Games.
“I feel very confident. A lot has changed since I went to the Olympics last time during COVID. I’m excited to have a crowd. I’m excited to have my family there. I’m just excited about taking the whole thing in.”
Mitton made her Olympic debut in Tokyo in 2020. She told QCCR in March just after winning the world indoor gold medal that she’s matured as a competitor since her first Olympics, and that she’s ready for Paris.
“I think shot put is really this unique sport where as you get older you can still get better,” she said.
“So I think I’m kind of coming into my prime as a thrower. It’s a very technical, very strength-based event. So the stronger you get the better, which takes time. The technical aspect is just so fine-tuned that I’ve got so many throws under my belt and then so many throws in these major competitions now, that I think being able to take away from everything is just building that consistency and then building that confidence amongst the higher-level comps. Being able to handle myself more as a professional as opposed to a rookie thrower who perhaps gets nervous prior to the competition. And I’m able to keep my composure.”
The women’s Olympic shot put qualification round is on Aug. 8, with the final the next day.
Canadian shot put thrower Sarah Mitton throws during the group A qualification round during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in July 2021. (Photo by Mark Blinch/COC)
With the Summer Olympics just over a month away, anticipation is building for fans of Queens County Olympian and world champion Sarah Mitton.
And to show support for Brooklyn’s best-known athlete, the Region of Queens is organizing a video tribute to send to Mitton to cheer her on as she goes for shotput gold in Paris.
The municipality is calling on people to record a video that’s 10 seconds or less. They’ll edit all the videos into one and send it to Mitton as she prepares for the Olympics.
The region’s mayor Darlene Norman is organizing her own video tribute on Saturday morning near her home in Port Medway.
“I’m hopeful that many people will show up from Port, neighbouring communities and perhaps some other places,” Norman said Thursday.
Norman’s video will be recorded at the village’s lighthouse park near the wharf at 9 a.m..
“I’d encourage people if they have any of the Sarah signs left from the last Olympics to bring them along. If they want to bring a big poster, if they want to wear bright clothing, just bring your happy spirit to send Sarah some great words.”
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 recently won gold at the USATF New York City Grand Prix.
Mitton, who turned 28 on Thursday, is getting ready for the Canadian track and field trials coming up at the end of June in Montreal.
“I’ve had my eye on Paris for two years at least,” Mitton said. “And everything we’ve been doing in the last two years is a part of our preparation.”
Norman says Mitton is an inspiration to many people.
“I’ve always admired her. She’s so well spoken and she’s such a good representative for Queens County and Nova Scotia and Canada. And she’s from Brooklyn. Think about it. We had no fancy track facilities, we just had volunteer teachers who coached, and Sarah stood out and shone, found what she loves and pursued it. And I think that’s such an excellent role model for anyone in any walk of life.”
Even if they can’t make it to Port Medway on Saturday morning, Norman encourages people to make their own videos.
“Get together in your own community, get together with your family, your friends, send a solo video. Just take part and send Sarah Mitton a cheer, a hello, a good luck, a ‘we’re so proud of you’, whatever message people like to make.”
The region is accepting videos by email until July 2. You can send them to cheersfromhome@regionofqueens.com. All videos must be no longer than 10 seconds.
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.”
