Of course this event will evoke memories of Norway’s great female javelin thrower Trine Hattestad. She was a huge crowd favourite at the Bislett Games and had a record that was the envy of every thrower in the world – Olympic Champion, twice World Champion as well as European Champion. Hattestad won all the major titles plus bettered the world record on two occasions.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary, the best possible field has been assembled to compete for honour, the Diamond Race points and the prize-money. Heading the field is a lady with similar credentials to Hattestad. Barbora Špotáková of the Czech Republic is the current world-record holder and has won two Olympic Games as well as gold medals in both World and European Championships.
She will be joined in the competition by two old rivals, both who have returned to competition after taking a year off for maternal duties. The young mothers are both former World Champions and both have personal best in excess of 70m. Germany’s Christina Obergföll was the 2013 World Champion, whilst Russia’s Maria Abakumova was victorious in the 2011 World Championship. Indeed to complete the motherhood theme, Barbora Špotáková, the world record-holder (72.28m) took time off after her London Olympic victory to start a family and completed a successful comeback to the sport last year when she won both the European Championship and the Diamond League javelin.
Abakumova has medals in three World Championships, winning in Daegu and gaining the bronze medal in both Berlin and Moscow. Her personal best of 71.98m is the second longest throw in the history of the sport.
Christina Obergföll broke through for her first major Championship victory when she finally won the javelin in Moscow. The German had been a finalist at World Championships on four occasions prior to Moscow without a victory. She also had two minor medals at Olympic Games so the 2013 win was the most remarkable achievement of her career.
In the recent history of the sport and with the recalibrated javelins there have only been 11 throws recorded over 70m. Abakumova has achieved the feat on four occasions, Špotáková has managed it on three instances, whilst Obergföll has two marks in advance of 70m. They represent the best throwers of this era and they are all in in the ExxonMobil Bislett Games.
Many of the spectators who roared and cheered both Hattestad and Thorkildsen to supreme performances in the Bislett stadium will again be present to support the greatest female throwers in the world.
ExxonMobil Bislett Games - Oslo
