It’s not the way shot putters normally describe themselves.
“I competed like a little daisy.”
Bates College graduate Liz Wanless, competing against the best throwers in the world for the first time in her career, had a disappointing performance Friday in the women’s shot put at the world track and field championships in Helsinki, Finland.
Wanless, finished 25th out of 26 throwers with a subpar effort of 54 feet, 1 inches. A throw of 58-7 would have cracked the top 12 and qualified her for today’s final.
Valerie Vili of New Zealand fired the shot 65-2 to lead the qualifiers.
The other American in the event, national champion Kristin Heaston, threw 57-6 to finish 16th.
No American has qualified for the women’s shot put finals in the world championships since 1999, and no American has ever won a medal.
Entering the competition with a season-best of 60-8, Wanless, 23, had won a low-key meet a couple of weeks ago in Budapest with a distance of more than 57 feet. But her throwing form never came together Friday.
“Coach (Larry) Judge and I worked miracles just to get here, and as far as my performance goes, I am not satisfied,” Wanless said in a statement released Friday by USA Track and Field. “The only thing I had going today was aggression. Maybe I could’ve concentrated a little harder on getting the technique right.”
Her best throw came on her first toss. Her final two throws were both less than 53 feet.
Wanless, a 2004 graduate of Bates, is attending graduate school at the University of Florida.
Comments are no longer available on this story