World Athletics Championships 2022: Javelin thrower Annu Rani reaches 2nd straight final
The World Athletics Championships 2022 is being held in Eugene, USA. Meanwhile, javelin thrower Annu Rani has reached the final for the second consecutive time.
FollowIndian javelin thrower Annu Rani has sealed her qualification for the 2022 World Athletics Championships finals. She came up with a throw of 59.60 metres in her last attempt during the tournament, which is being held in Eugene, United States of America (USA), on Thursday morning. Annu was staring at an early exit as she began with a foul throw, followed by a below-par 55.35 metres throw in her second attempt. However, she managed to land her spear at 59.60 metres, well below her season's best, which was good enough to send her to the finals.
Annu finished fifth in the Group B qualifiers round and made it to the finals as eighth best in the two groups on Day 5 of the tournament. The 29-year-old national record holder surprisingly failed to touch the 60 metres mark. However, she has the chance to make things right in the finals on Saturday. Her personal best is 63.82 metres, which is also her season best.
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Those who touched the 62.50 metres mark or 12 best performers across the two groups ideally made it to the finals. Only three competitors could get past the automatic qualifying mark of 62.50 metres. Surprisingly, season leader Maggie Malone of the USA failed to make it to the finals. She finished 12th in Group B and 22nd overall, while her best throw was 54.19 metres.
In contrast, defending champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia was into the medal round as the fifth-best performer, as she came up with an effort of 61.27 metres. At the same time, Annu has qualified for her World Championships finals for the second successive instance, her third appearance at the event.
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Annu had finished eighth in the finals, registering her best throw of 61.12 metres in the previous edition in Doha 2019. She failed to qualify for the finals in London 2017 after she finished 10th in her qualifiers' group. She broke her national record with a 63.82-metre throw, winning the gold medal during the 2022 Indian Open Javelin Throw Competition in Jamshedpur.
As for the women's 5,000 metres race, Parul Chaudhary failed to qualify for the semis after finishing 17th in Heat 2, besides finishing 31st overall with a time of 15:54.03. The 27-year-old holds a season's best of 15:39.77 and a personal best of 15:36.03. Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympics champion Neeraj Chopra will compete in the Group A qualification round of the men's javelin throw on Friday morning.
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Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Jakub Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic and the 2012 London Olympics gold medalist Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago will also compete alongside Chopra in Group A. Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada will compete in Group B of the qualifiers. The finals will happen on Sunday.
