The Unofficial 2008 Beijing Olympics Blog

Aksana Miankova of Belarus has won the Women’s Hammer Throw gold medal in a new Olympic record of 76.34 meters in the Women’s Hammer Throw at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Miankova’s best throw put her well ahead of Athens 2004 silver medalist Yipsi Moreno of Cuba, who threw 75.20m, and China’s Wenxiu Zhang, who threw a season best of 74.32m to claim bronze.

Miankova still leads the 2008 world rankings with her national record of 77.32m, the third best throw of all time. She threw 69.77m to qualify for the final.

Moreno came into the final ranked first, with a throw of 73.92m in the preliminary round on August 18. The Athens 2004 Olympic Games silver medalist boasts a personal best of 76.36m and multiple World Championship medals. She won gold medals in the 2001 and 2003 World Championships and finished second in 2005 and 2007.

Zhang threw the second furthest in Monday’s preliminaries, marking 73.36m, while Martina Hrasnova of Slovakia followed with 72.87m to take third place going into the final.

Darya Pchelnik of Belarus sits third in the world rankings, with a personal best throw of 76.33m. She passed through the prelims with 71.30m.

Germany’s Betty Heidler, who won the World Championships in Osaka and also set a national record of 76.55m, had two fouls from three throws, with her only marking throw reaching a distance of 70.06m, taking ninth place.

Former World Junior Championships silver medalist Martina Hrasnova of Slovakia owns the second best throw of 2008 with a personal best of 76.82, but only managed to throw 71.00m to take eighth place.

25-year-old Kamila Skolimowska of Poland won gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and was fourth in Osaka, but failed to make any of her throws count.

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