September 20, 2025 Jessica Schilder celebrates after winning gold in the last round of the shot put. Photo: AP/Matthias Schrader
Jessica Schilder claimed a second gold medal for the Netherlands at the world athletics championships with her last throw of a dramatic shot put final.
Schilder was lying fourth going into the final round, but found her best form when it mattered to overhaul the long-term leader, Maddison-Lee Wesche of New Zealand, with a distance of 20.29m.
Chase Jackson of the USA also overtook Wesche with her final throw, but fell just short of Schilder with 20.21m.
“I had faith in myself, I talked a lot to my coach and asked him if I could make 20 metres at the end of the season and he said: ‘Of course you can,’” the 26-year-old from Volendam said.
Schilder’s win lifted the Netherlands to fourth place in the medal table, with chances of more medals in Tokyo with the relays to come on the final day.
Relay hopes
The men’s and women’s teams qualified for their finals of the 4x400m, while the men’s sprint relay team also progressed in a time of 37.95 seconds, just 0.08 outside the national record.
But the women’s 4x100m team were eliminated in fifth place, after hurdler Nadine Visser was replaced at the last minute because of a hamstring injury.
Sofie Dokter finished sixth in the heptathlon, equalling her position in last year’s Olympic Games in Paris, while Emma Oosterwegel was ninth. Olympic champion Anna Hall of the USA won the event, while her compatriot Taliyah Brooks and Katarina Johnson-Thompson both won bronze medals after finishing with the same points total.
There was disappointment for Sven Roosen, fourth in last year’s Olympic decathlon, who dropped out after failing to clear his opening height of 1.81m in the high jump.
Athletics Sport
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