August 29, 2021 - Back and better than ever, Sandra Perković has won the Diamond League discus throw in Paris!

Croatia's best female athlete reached her 44th victory at the Diamond League in her career with a throw of 65.68 meters in the decisive sixth series. With that, she surpassed the second-placed Cuban Yaime Perez by 37 centimeters, while the Olympic winner from Tokyo, American Valarie Allman, took third place with a throw of 64.51 meters.

Perković performed the best throw of the competition in the second series when she threw 66.08 meters and thus secured a place in the final series. Her result from the fourth series of 64.69m was the second-best in the first five series, and Perez repeated that range in the fifth series.

On the other hand, Allman made it to the final series with just one correct throw from the first five attempts. In the first series, the American threw 62.47m, and then she crossed four times. Very close to knocking Allman out of the finals was Portugal's Liliana Ca, who finished fourth with 62.43m, and France's Melina Robert-Michon, who finished fifth with 62.42m.

With this victory, Perković reached Perez in the overall standings of the Diamond League discus throw. Both now have 22 points, while Allman is third with 13 points.

After a disappointing campaign in Tokyo, where she was left without a medal after two consecutive gold medals in London and Rio, Sandra came back stronger than ever. Sandra is full of desire and motivation to show that she is once again the best in the sport and that the Tokyo Olympics were just on her bad day. 

Sandra is also a big favorite at the Hanžeković Memorial on September 14, and her main competitor will be the American Allman.

Source: 24 Sata

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Jun 11, 2021 - Great news for the Discus Queen Sandra Perković, who recorded her 43rd Diamond League win in Florence on Friday. The celebrated Sandra is back on top just 40 days before the Olympic Games in Tokyo! 

Sandra Perković returned to the winning track she knows well in the discus throw with a triumph at the Diamond League rally in Florence, reports HRT.

Perković threw the longest shot of 68.31 meters in the second series, but the victory came thanks to a throw of 66.90 meters in the sixth series, considering that according to the new rules, the winners are decided by the first three shots in the sixth series. Sandra reached 67.70 meters in the first series, and she also had three offenses.

About 40 days before the start of the Olympic Games, the Croatian discus thrower is obviously getting back in shape after a break due to a pandemic and injuries. She will be looking for her third consecutive Olympic gold in Tokyo.

Second place in Florence was Cuban Jaime Perez (66.82 m), who was first at the Diamond League rally in Doha, where Perković was only third. Third place in Florence was taken by the German Kristin Prudenz (64.42 m).

The second Croatian representative Marija Tolj came in fourth with a distance of 63.28 meters achieved in the third series.

Croatian record holder in the shot put Filip Mihaljević took fourth place at the Diamond League rally in Florence.

Mihaljevic threw 21.39 meters in the last fifth series, and he also had a shot of 21.28 meters.

A few days ago, Filip broke the Croatian record, which is now 21.94! 

New Zealander Tom Walsh (21.47) celebrated in Florence with a better shot in the sixth series than the Serb Armin Sinancevic (21.60). 

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November 7, 2019 - 'Discus Queen' Sandra Perkovic will not compete in the Diamond League next year as the discus throw has been eliminated from the program. 

T.portal writes that the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) has identified the disciplines that will be in the Diamond League program for 2020. However, there is no discus throw among those selected, meaning that Croatia’s best female athlete Sandra Perkovic will not compete in the most elite series of athletic meetings.

In addition to removing the discus throw from the Diamond League program, they dropped the triple jump and 200m and 3000m hurdles. The IAAF's decision applies to both the male and female competition.

Thus, we will certainly not see Croatia’s best female athlete in the strongest competition of the world's best female athletes next year. This also means a substantial financial loss for Sandra, as it includes tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses, and appearances in the Diamond League also binds generous sponsors.

Note that the 'reformed' Diamond League will have 14 meetings in the program and the already traditional Zurich finals. Athletes will compete in 12 disciplines, with IAAF leaders explaining that the discus throw, triple jump and 3000m hurdles race were eliminated because they are 'at the bottom of the list of interesting disciplines chosen by the polled spectators'. The 200 meter hurdles race was ’sacrificed' because of the much more popular 100 meter race.

However, it has been announced that the discus throw will be in one of the 12 Diamond League meetings, but will certainly not be in the Zurich finals.

The good news is that Sandra Perkovic will not run out of competition next year as she will find solace in the Continental Tour, a new series of meetings that will nominally be a step below the Diamond League. So, which cities will host Sandra Perkovic next season? Perhaps the cities where the IAAF World Challenge were held - like Sao Paolo, Osaka, Nanjing, Hengelo, Turku, Ostrava, Berlin, and Zagreb.

The IAAF also announced that at the end of next season, they would re-evaluate all disciplines, including those eliminated, in order to make a better decision on the discipline program for 2021. 

"I can understand all the disappointed athletes whose disciplines are not in the Diamond League, but we must also strive for more exciting disciplines," said Sebastian Coe, president of the Diamond League.

Thus, next year, only Croatian athletes Ana Simic (high jump), Filip Mihaljevic and Stipe Zunic (shot put), and Sarah Kolak (javelin throw) will compete in the Diamond League. 

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September 7, 2019 - Cuban Yaime Perez was again fatal to the Olympic gold medalist, world and European champion Sandra Perkovic at the finals of the Diamond Athletic League in Brussels.

HRT reports that Perez won first place throwing a distance of 68.27 meters, while Perkovic was second with 66 meters. Last year, Yaime Perez celebrated in the Diamond League final, although Sandra Perkovic was undefeated in Brussels at the time.

Yaime Perez took the lead in the first series with a throw of 65.95 meters, while Sandra Perkovic finished in the net. In the second series, Perkovic threw 65.48 meters, which pushed her into second, a place she held until the end. In the fourth series, Perez further solidified her lead with a throw of 67.24 meters. In the subsequent series, Perkovic threw 66 meters, which meant that Perez won the Diamond League for the second consecutive time, celebrating with the best throw of the competition - 68.27 meters.

Sandra Perkovic achieved three accurate throws in Brussels, and three days ago at the Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb, she delivered 67.78-meters. Sandra’s best result this year is from August when she threw 68.68 meters in the European League Championships in Varazdin.

Third place went to Germany's Kristin Pudenz (63.73 meters), who was second in Zagreb, while Cuban Denia Caballero finished fourth (63.53 meters).

Ana Simic made it to the Diamond League final in the high jump. She finished eighth with Sweden's Erika Kinsey and jumped 185 cm.

Simic managed 180 and 185 cm from the first attempt, though 189 cm was too high for our jumper, whose personal record is 199 cm. This season, Simic boasts a high jump of 194 cm.

Russian athlete Maria Lasitskene celebrated in the high jump with 199 cm. After securing the victory, she also tried to jump 204 cm, but all three times she was unsuccessful. Second place went to Ukraine's Yulia Levchenko with 197 cm and third to Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam with 195 cm.

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August 25, 2019 - Croatia's best female athlete and two-time Olympic gold discus thrower Sandra Perković finished second in the Diamond League in Paris with a result of 65.01 meters, while Cuban Denia Caballero finished in first with a throw of 1.90 meters, reports HRT.

Perković poorly opened the competition, and in the first two series, she had two faulty throws and managed 64.65 meters in the third series, giving her second place and three additional series. Her best throw of the evening came in the sixth series, but even that 65.01 meters did not threaten Caballero's victory.

Perković’s result from Paris is 3.57 meters lower than her best result of the season she set two weeks ago at the European Team Championships in Varaždin. Chinese Bin Feng took third place after throwing 64.60 meters.

By the end of the Diamond League competition, Perković is still expected to make her final appearance in Zurich on Thursday. Until the Doha World Cup (September 27 - October 6), Perković will perform in Zagreb on September 3, and at the Europe-USA duel in Minsk (September 9-10).

Filip Mihaljević also performed in Paris and finished sixth in the shot put after throwing 21.22-meters, while New Zealand's Tomas Walsh won with a new record of 22.44 meters.

Mihaljević made his best shot in the final, sixth series, jumping from eighth to sixth place, surpassing Polish shot putter Konrad Bukowiecki in seventh and Luxembourgian Bob Bertemes in eighth by two centimeters. 

The result of the Croatian representative achieved in Paris is 62 centimeters lower than his Croatian record, which he set three months ago in Slovenska Bistrica.

Walsh had a great series, even breaking the 22-meter record he set last year four times and throwing the furthest in the first series when the shot put landed at 22.44 meters. Second place went to Joe Kovacs of the USA who threw 22.11 meters, and third to Brazilian Darlan Romani who achieved 21.56 meters.

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At a press conference ahead of the start of the summer season and the Diamond League in Stockholm, Croatia’s best female athlete Sandra Perković revealed that her coach Edis Elkasević received an excellent financial offer to work abroad, which he is ready to accept. This would leave Perković without a coach for the next Olympic year, as she believes no one can replace Elkasević, reports HRT on May 24, 2019. 

“Edis Elkasević has received a great offer from abroad, so there is the possibility that in 2020 he will not be my coach. In these few months, we have to see how and what we can accomplish, what will be the continuation of our career - because of the financial resources he receives in Croatia, the man has decided, and I do not blame him, to look for his destiny elsewhere. In agreement with the sponsors and my other team, we are trying to keep Edis in Croatia,” Sandra Perković said during a press conference held in Zagreb on Friday to kick off her premiere performance in the Diamond League this season,  which will be held on Thursday, May 30 in Stockholm.

When asked if anyone could replace Elkasević, Perković answered briefly and clearly:

“Nobody.”

Perković had announced that she could follow Elkasević.

"My whole world is facing the Olympics in Tokyo and there is a great possibility that I could leave after it, which would not be good for him, for me, nor the whole of Croatia.”

Perković did not wish to reveal which country the offer for her coach came from. Elkasević and Perković have been working together since 2012.

“If we do not realize what we are planning in the next few months, you will be informed about it.”

According to the rules of the International Athletics Federation (IAAF), coaches do not have national restrictions on engagement in other states, while competitors wishing to change their nationality must wait four years to be able to perform under the flag of another country. 

Sandra Perković has pointed to the financial problems in her sport for years, in which she and her team have worked hard to change. However, the improvements are insufficient and slow.

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Sandra Perković’s winning throw received 32 points, which was four more than the second-placed Perez and eight more than the third-placed Caballero.

Sandra Perkovic continued her winning streak in the Diamond League after a discus victory in Rome. 

The impressive Sandra has given us a taste of what we can expect from this season in her opening Diamond League performance.

Sandra won all seven Diamond League events and confirmed her dominance in female discus throwing