Sandra Perkovic continued her winning streak in the Diamond League after a discus victory in Rome.
Sandra Perković, known as Croatia’s best female athlete, not only continued her stellar winning streak in the Diamond League, but she also broke a record over 30 years old, reports Gol.hr on May 31, 2018.
After throwing 68.93 meters in Rome on Thursday, Perković achieved her goal of overcoming Bulgarian discus thrower Tsvetanka Khristova’s 1986 record. Sandra broke the former record holder by three centimeters, though the win and the new 68.93-meter achievement came only in the fifth set.
Until then, Cuban discus thrower Jaime Perez led the group (66.62 meters), while Sandra’s best shot was 65.11 meters in the third round. Perković opened the competition with a 64.13-meter throw, and in the second, fourth and sixth series, Perković had foul attempts. Third place was awarded to another Cuban discus thrower, Denia Caballero (63.48 meters).
At Perković’s first Diamond League appearance this season in Doha, she threw an unbelievable 71.38 meters, which was only three centimeters short of her personal record.
The 27-year-old athlete from Zagreb is a two-time Olympic and World champion, while she’s won the European championships four times. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Perković not only won her second consecutive gold medal in the discipline, but she equalized the 1980 record held by Evelin Jahl. In 2017, Sandra was nominated for the World Woman Athlete of the Year for the fifth time and was named Croatia’s best female athlete.
The next Diamond League competition is on June 7 in Oslo, Norway.
