Olympic Summer Games 2008 / Athletics - Discus Throw (Women)

sport	athletics
discipline	Discus throw
gender	Women
place	Beijing National Stadium
Attendees	38 athletes from 24 countries
Competition phase	August 15-18, 2008
Medalist
gold	Stephanie Brown Trafton ( USA )
silver	Olena Antonowa ( UKR )
bronze	Song Aimin ( CHN )

The discus throw at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing took place on August 15 and 18, 2008. 38 athletes took part.

The US-American Stephanie Brown Trafton became Olympic champion . Olena Antonowa from Ukraine won the silver medal, while the bronze went to Song Aimin from China .

Current titleholders

Olympic Champion 2004	Natalja Sadowa ( Russia )	67.02 m	Athens 2004
World Champion 2007	Franka Dietzsch ( Germany )	66.61 m	Osaka 2007
European Champion 2006	Darja Pishchalnikova ( Russia )	65.55 m	Gothenburg 2006
Pan American Champion 2007	Yarelys Barrios ( Cuba )	61.72 m	Rio de Janeiro 2007
2008 Central American and Caribbean Champion	Yarelys Barrios ( Cuba )	62.87 m	Cali 2008
South American Champion 2007	Elisângela Adriano ( Brazil )	59.85 m	São Paulo 2007
Asian Champion 2007	Liu Xiangrong ( People's Republic of China )	61.30 m	Amman 2007
African champion 2004	Elizna Naudé ( South Africa )	55.34 m	Addis Ababa 2008
Oceania Champion 2008	Tereapii Tapoki ( Cook Islands )	50.59 m	Saipan 2008

Existing records

World record	76.80 m	Gabriele Reinsch ( GDR )	Neubrandenburg , GDR (now Germany )	July 9, 1988
Olympic record	72.30 m	Martina Hellmann ( GDR )	Final from Seoul , South Korea	September 29, 1988

doping

Even the women's discus was not spared from the doping problem. The forbidden diuretic acetazolamide was discovered in the Cuban Yarelys Barrios as part of post-testing of doping samples at the 2008 Summer Olympics . As a result, she was stripped of the silver medal. The athletes placed after her in the final each moved up one place in the official ranking.

qualification

The qualification was carried out in two groups. The qualification distance for direct entry into the final was 61.50 m. Since only nine athletes reached this distance (highlighted in light blue), the final field was filled with the next best athletes from both groups to twelve participants (highlighted in light green). Finally, 60.28 m had to be achieved to take part. The nine jumpers who qualified directly for the final also included the doping cheater Barrios, so that ultimately only eleven athletes made it into the final.

Group A

The Ukrainian Natalija Semenova is seventh in her qualifying group with 59.44 m

The Polish Joanna Wiśniewska did not reach the final with her 60.18 m

August 15, 2008, 7:55 pm

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	Expanse	annotation
1	Stephanie Brown Trafton	United States	57.78 m	x	62.77 m	62.77 m
2	Iryna Yatchanka	Belarus	62.26 m	-	-	62.26 m
3	Mélina Robert-Michon	France	x	55.28 m	62.21 m	62.21 m
4th	Dani Samuels	Australia	x	x	61.72 m	61.72 m
5	Olena Antonova	Ukraine	61.25 m	60.61 m	59.92 m	61.25 m
6th	Elina Swerava	Belarus	x	60.28 m	59.60 m	60.28 m
7th	Natalia Semenova	Ukraine	x	60.18 m	x	60.18 m
8th	Wioletta Potępa	Poland	59.44 m	59.20 m	59.10 m	59.44 m
9	Joanna Wiśniewska	Poland	59.40 m	58.08 m	x	59.40 m
10	Elisângela Adriano	Brazil	x	x	58.84 m	58.84 m
11	Kateryna Karsak	Ukraine	x	53.14 m	58.61 m	58.61 m
12	Vera Begic	Croatia	55.87 m	58.50 m	x	58.50 m
13	Ma Xuejun	People's Republic of China	58.45 m	x	56.84 m	58.45 m
14th	Suzy Powell-Roos	United States	56.02 m	x		56.02 m
15th	Philippa Roles	Great Britain	x	59.85 m	57.44 m	57.44 m
16	Harwant Kaur	India	56.38 m	56.38 m	56.42 m	56.42 m
17th	Oxana Jesipchuk	Russia	54.91 m	54.34 m	55.07 m	55.07 m
18th	Tereapii tapoki	Cook Islands	46.77 m	44.11 m	48.35 m	48.35 m
DOP	Yarelys Barrios	Cuba					in the final, later disqualified

Group B

The Cuban Yania Ferrales is 59.87 m not enough for the final

August 15, 2008, 9:20 pm

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	Expanse	annotation
1	Nicoleta Grasu	Romania	57.51 m	52.51 m	-	52.51 m
2	Aretha Thurmond	United States	58.70 m	61.90 m	-	61.90 m
3	Song Aimin	People's Republic of China	59.89 m	61.31 m	61.67 m	61.67 m
4th	Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová	Czech Republic	61.61 m	-	-	61.61 m
5	Li Yanfeng	People's Republic of China	60.99 m	61.29 m	-	61.29 m
6th	Dragana Tomašević	Serbia	55.59 m	x	60.19 m	60.19 m
7th	Yania Ferrales	Cuba	59.87 m	58.73 m	59.85 m	59.87 m
8th	Svetlana Saikina	Russia	x	x	59.48 m	59.48 m
9	Elizna Naudé	South Africa	58.75 m	57.09 m	58.35 m	58.75 m
10	Krishna Poonia	India	57.31 m	58.23 m	58.15 m	58.23 m
11	Natalia Sadova	Russia	x	58.11 m	57.76 m	58.11 m
12	Beatrice Faumuina	New Zealand	57.15 m	x	54.49 m	57.15 m
13	Hanna Mazgunova	Belarus	x	x	56.77 m	56.77 m
14th	Anna Söderberg	Sweden	x	55.28 m	53.48 m	55.28 m
15th	Zinaida Sendriūtė	Lithuania	54.81 m	53.41 m	52.42 m	54.81 m
16	Wenera Getowa	Bulgaria	52.51 m	54.00 m	52.40 m	54.00 m
17th	Dorothea Kalpakidou	Greece	x	53.00 m	51.61 m	53.00 m
18th	Rocío Comba	Argentina	x	x	51.36 m	51.36 m
ogV	Żaneta Glanc	Poland	x	x	x		without space

final

August 18, 2008, 7:00 p.m.

Eleven athletes had qualified for the final, eight of them by qualifying distance and another three by their placements. Two Chinese women, two US-Americans and Belarusians were represented, as well as one participant each from Australia, France, Romania, the Czech Republic and the Ukraine. Then there was the Cuban Yarelys Barrios , who was disqualified for doping abuse ten years after the competition was held.

One of the favorites was the German world champion from 2005 and 2007, Franka Dietzsch . But she canceled her participation in the Olympic competition for health reasons. Another athlete with very good chances for a medal was the Cuban Yarelys Barrios, who was later disqualified. Their performance will not be discussed further in the following brief description of the finale. The other medal candidates included the Romanian Olympic fifth from 2004 , World Cup fifth from 2005, EC third from 2006 and World Cup third from 2007 Nicoleta Grasu, the Czech Olympic third from 2004, World Cup third from 2005 and EC seventh from 2006 Věra Pospíšilová -Cechlová and the Ukrainian Olena Antonova as WM -Achte of 2005 World Cup -Fünfte of of 2007.

After the first round of the finals, the American Stephanie Brown Trafton led with a throw of 64.74 m in front of Antonowa with 60.79 m and the Chinese Li Yanfeng with 60.68 m. The French Mélina Robert-Michon - 60.49 m and the Belarusian Elina Swerawa - 60.43 m followed closely. It was to be assumed that this was a start, because only five athletes had exceeded the 60-meter mark and the lead distance was well below the distances that had been achieved at major championships in recent years. But the competition didn't really want to pick up speed anymore. In the battle for the medals, there were still postponements and improvements, but Brown Trafton's length from round one should last as a top result until the end and brought the US American the surprising Olympic victory.

Behind Brown Trafton, Antonowa improved on lap two to 62.16 m. Pospíšilová-Cechlová took third place with 61.08 m. In the third round, the Chinese song Aimin reached 62.17 m, she was one centimeter ahead of Antonova in second place. In the penultimate series of attempts, the Ukrainian countered with 62.59 m. Song - 62.20 m, Pospíšilová-Cechlová - 61.75 m - and Robert-Michon - 60.66 m - also improved their distances, but this had no effect on the ranking. In the last round only Swerawa's throw of 60.82 m brought one last change.

Behind Olympic champion Stephanie Brown Trafton, Olena Antonowa won silver, Song Aimin took the bronze medal. Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová came fourth ahead of Elina Swerawa and Li Yanfeng. Mélina Robert-Michon took seventh place ahead of Australian Dani Samuels. She was denied three more attempts by Barrios' doping fraud, which she would have been allowed to do eighth after three rounds.

Song Aimin, who had to assume she had no medal for ten years, was particularly hard hit by Barrios' doping fraud. Submitting the bronze medal after this long period is only a weak compensation.

Stephanie Brown Trafton won the second gold medal for the USA in the women's discus throw after Lillian Copeland's Olympic victory in Los Angeles in 1932 .
Olena Antonowa and Song Aimin won the first medals for Ukraine and China in this discipline.

space	Surname	nation	1st attempt	Second attempt	3. Attempt	4th attempt	5th attempt	6th attempt	Bottom line	annotation
1	Stephanie Brown Trafton	United States	64.74 m	x	x	58.39 m	61.30 m	x	64.74 m
2	Olena Antonova	Ukraine	60.79 m	62.16 m	x	60.50 m	62.59 m	62.34 m	62.59 m
3	Song Aimin	People's Republic of China	56.41 m	59.55 m	62.17 m	61.75 m	62.20 m	60.51 m	62.20 m
4th	Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová	Czech Republic	x	61.08 m	x	58.74 m	61.75 m	61.66 m	61.75 m
5	Elina Swerava	Belarus	60.43 m	60.10 m	x	x	60.34 m	60.82 m	60.82 m
6th	Li Yanfeng	People's Republic of China	60.68 m	x	59.72 m	x	x	60.62 m	60.68 m
7th	Mélina Robert-Michon	France	60.49 m	x	x	x	60.66 m	60.45 m	60.66 m
8th	Dani Samuels	Australia	57.14 m	x	60.15 m	not in the final of the eight best throwers			60.15 m	actually qualified for the final of the top eight
9	Aretha Thurmond	United States	56.72 m	59.80 m	57.99 m				59.80 m
10	Iryna Yatchanka	Belarus	x	x	59.27 m				59.27 m
11	Nicoleta Grasu	Romania	58.63 m	x	x				58.63 m
DOP	Natallja Michnewitsch	Belarus								disqualified after 10 years

• 

  The Czech Věra Pospíšilová-Cechlová is now fourth after bronze four years ago

• 

  The Olympic sixth Li Yanfeng from China

• 

  The French Mélina Robert-Michon finished seventh in the final

• 

  The Australian Dani Samuels comes in eighth in the final

• 

  Belarusian Iryna Jatchanka is tenth in the Olympics

• 

  Nicoleta Grasu from Romania reached eleventh place

Web links

• SportsReference Discus Throw Women , accessed July 5, 2018
• Results on the IAAF website, accessed on July 5, 2018
• Official Report of the XXVIIIth Olympiad, Results Athletics , English / French (PDF, 3054 KB), accessed on July 5, 2018

Video

• Athletics - Women's Discus Final - Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games , published August 18, 2008 on youtube.com, accessed July 5, 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Campeonato CAC de Atletismo 2008 on athlecac.org, accessed on July 5, 2018
2. ↑ Campeonato Sudamericano de Atletismo 2007 on athlecac.org, accessed on July 5, 2018
3. ↑ 17th Asian Athletics Championship 2007 ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at athleticsasia.org (PDF, 417 KB), accessed July 5, 2018 
4. ↑ Oceania Area Championships - 25/06/2008 to 28/06/2008 on athletics-oceania.com (PDF, 130 KB), accessed on July 5, 2018
5. ↑ IAAF world records, discus throw women , accessed on July 5, 2018
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e} 2008 Olympics: Silver medalist from Beijing tested positive on Spiegel Online September 1, 2016, accessed on July 5, 2018