World champion Tatyana Lysenko of Russia added the Olympic gold to her collection with an Olympic record 78.18m in women’s hammer throw at the Olympic stadium on Friday.
Lysenko — who did not compete in the Beijing Games owing to a doping suspension — started with an opening throw of 77.56m and sealed the issue with her penultimate throw.
Confusion over bronze
Former World champion Anita Wlodarcyyk of Poland took the silver with her last throw of 77.60m, but confusion prevailed about the bronze medal which changed hands dramatically.
World record holder Betty Heidler of Germany was in the eighth place when she came up with a big throw. However, due to a technical error with the measuring equipment, it was not recorded properly. The German was given a substitute throw, which she fouled.
At the end of the competition, Zhang Wenxiu (76.34) of China was under the impression that she had won the bronze and was busy celebrating her second successive medal after the bronze at Beijing.
However, after the final had ended, the officials went back to the in-field and found the mark of what they thought was Heidler’s original fifth-round throw and measured it at 77.13m, which fetched the German the bronze, and relegated the Chinese to fourth spot.
China’s protest was rejected, and Heidler’s bronze medal distance was also revised down to 77.12m after re-checking the electronic measuring device.
Defending champion Aksana Miankova of Belarus ended seventh with 74.40m, despite being the world leader prior to the Games with a national record of 78.69m set in Minsk three weeks ago.
