Foto: Športová fotografia Pavol Uhrin
The first day of the European Championship in Munich was fantastic for Croatian athletics. After Matea Parlov Koštro won the silver medal in the marathon, which is a result that we can call historic, and sensational, Filip Mihaljević ended the day with a gold medal in shot put!
Although our record holder was the most successful European shot putter at the World Championships in Eugene, and although he himself did not shy away from the role of one of the favorites for a medal, even a gold one, the way he got to that medal is fascinating.
Mihaljević opened the competition with a shot of 20.37 meters, after which he grew from shot to shot. After 21.05 in the second series, he took the lead by 21.27 in the third serie and did not let it go until the end. Moreover, by 21.53 in the fourth series, he set a very difficult task for all his rivals, including Armin Sinančević (21.39 m) and Tomaš Stanek (21.26 m), who were equal to him until then.
Filip ended his great final performance with a shot of 21.88, which was his best result of the season, and announced a possible attack at 22 meters by the end of the season. Why not exactly on September 10 at the Ivan Ivančić Memorial near the Zagreb fountains, where his opponents will be all the world’s best shot putters, led by Ryan Crouser?!