Sarah Mitton of Liverpool, Nova Scotia and Django Lovett of Surrey, British Columbia each came away with medals on Wednesday in the 2022 Diamond League Final at Zurich, Switzerland. Mitton won the silver medal in the women’s shot put and Lovett won the bronze medal in the men’s high jump.
Mitton had a throw of 19.56 metres. Chase Ealey of the United States won the gold medal with a throw of 20.19 metres. Auriol Dongmo of Portugal won the bronze medal with a throw of 19.46 metres. Mitton reached the podium by exactly half a metre. Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands finished in fourth place with a throw of 19.06 metres.
Ealey, the reigning world champion earlier this summer in Eugene, Oregon, had the three best throws in the event. She had a throw of 19.84 metres with her first throw and 19.62 metres with her fourth throw which also would have won her the gold medal.
In the men’s high jump, Lovett had a jump of 2.27 metres. Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy won the gold medal with a jump of 2.34 metres. JuVaughn Harrison of the United States won the silver medal with a jump of 2.34 metres. Lovett earned the podium spot by .03 metres over Andriy Protsenko of Ukraine, who had a jump of 2.24 metres. The medals for Mitton and Lovett will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.