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Bruce exits the women’s hammer
Lauren Bruce was disappointed not to advance to the women’s hammer final but took positives out of the display. Credit: (Michael Dawson)
Lauren Bruce – the sole Kiwi to compete in the afternoon session on day five of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest – placed 28th in the women’s hammer qualification with a best of 67.10m and missed out on a place in the final.
The 26-year-old Oceania record-holder with a best of 74.61m could not quite rediscover her best form on a hot, sticky night inside the atmospheric National Athletics Centre.
Aiming for the auto-qualifying mark of 73.00m, Timaru-raised Lauren launched the hammer out to her best effort in the qualification session in round one. In the second stanza the New Zealander almost matched her first round performance with a 67.04m throw but requiring more in round three she, unfortunately, climaxed her World Championships quest with a foul.
Seven women achieved the auto-qualification mark led by Hanna Skydan, who set an Azerbaijan record of 77.10m. DeAnna Price, the 2019 world champion of the USA, was the next best with 76.25m followed by Finn Silja Kosonen, who set a PB of 74.19m.
Bruce, who has a season’s best of 71.24m, said: “It certainly doesn’t get any easier bowing out in qualifying. It still stings. But it was an overwhelmingly different experience to past majors. A lot more positive, a lot more smiles, and a lot more fun. We’re better for this year, even if it didn’t show in the performance.
“I committed on all of my throws right from the first one. It’s something I’ve struggled with, and I was happy with how I approached that tonight. For my second and third throws I picked up the gears and didn’t match the ball. I feel like the theme for the past five months have been it’s not far off from going a long way, and I still believe that.”
Maddi Wesche is the one remaining New Zealand athlete still to compete at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. The Kiwi competes in women’s shot qualification on Saturday (26 August) at 20.25.
*Follow timetable/results here
*Profiles of all 19 New Zealand athletes competing in Budapest plus a full schedule of when the Kiwis are competing can be seen here
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