American shot putter successfully defends women's title with 20.43m throw on Saturday

Despite being reigning world champion going into Budapest, Chase Ealey has changed her shot put technique recently to give herself more chance of winning Olympic gold in Paris next year.

The gamble looks to be paying off already as she successfully defended her world crown on Saturday with a best effort of 20.43m.

In second, Sarah Mitton continued Canada’s brilliant championships with silver with 20.08m while Gong Lijiao of China, the 2017 and 2019 champion, earned her eighth consecutive individual medal with bronze with 19.69m.

Auriol Dongmo of Portugal also threw 19.69m but wound up fourth courtesy of the Chinese athlete having a superior second-best mark.

Maggie Ewen of the United States, the world No.1 in 2023, threw 19.51m for sixth place.

Ealey said: "It's even more satisfying than last year because this year I've struggled to get my technique sorted and get everything right. So for it to come together at the right time is perfect.”

The 29-year-old added: "I've been training really well and I was really confident. I was early in the series so I wanted to set a good mark and set the pace. I think I did that.

"I risked this gold because I changed my technique to get better for Paris and the Olympics. That was what the change was for. So hopefully in the future I will have more consistent throws like tonight."

Ealey competed with distinctive dark make-up around her eyes and she added: "I started crying with my mum. I ran to her and she started crying so I started crying. And now my face is a mess!"

» >