Wikipedia

Sarah Mitton

Sarah Dawn Mitton (born 20 June 1996) is a Canadian athlete specializing in the shot put.[1] She is the 2023 World silver medallist and 2024 World Indoor champion, the first Canadian woman to medal in the shot put at either World Athletics global championship. As well, she is the 2023 Pan American, 2022 Commonwealth, and 2019 Summer Universiade champion.

Sarah Mitton
Personal information
Full nameSarah Dawn Mitton
Born (1996-06-20) 20 June 1996 (age 28)
Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sport
SportAthletics
EventShot put
ClubSISU Throws Club
Coached byRichard Parkinson
Achievements and titles
Personal bestsOutdoor: 20.68 m (67 ft 10 in) (2024, NR)
Indoor: 20.22 m (66 ft 4 in) (2024, NR)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Budapest Shot put
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Glasgow Shot put
Diamond League
First place 2024 Shot put
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Shot put
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2023 Santiago Shot put
North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Freeport Shot put
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2019 Naples Shot put

Mitton represented Canada at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, and holds both the indoor and outdoor national records in women's shot put.

Career

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Youth and university (2013–2019)

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Mitton was born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia and raised in Brooklyn. A student athlete, she began throwing while in junior high school, but also participated in other events, and made the Nova Scotian heptathlon team in 2013.[2] After graduating from Liverpool High School in 2014, she was accepted to the University of Windsor on an athletic scholarship.[3] International assignments eluded Mitton in the early years of her career, narrowly missing qualification for both the 2013 World Youth Championships and the 2014 World Junior Championships.[4] In 2015 she won the Canadian junior title in shot put, which led to her first international assignment, the Pan American Junior Championships.[2] Competing on home soil in Edmonton, she finished in fourth place, 0.77 metres behind bronze medalist Sophia Rivera.[3]

Continuing to distinguish herself during her studies at Windsor, Mitton won the U Sports title and was named USports female field athlete of the year in 2018.[2] The university also bestowed upon her the DeMarco Award, in recognition of students who combined "academic achievement with athletic prowess."[5] Internationally, she competed at two Summer Universiades, finishing tenth in her first appearance in 2017 before taking gold in the shot put at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples. The latter was the first time she had competed in a shot put event with qualification and finals on the same day, something she simulated extensively in advance, which she later said gave her a considerable advantage over her competitors.[6] Mitton described it as "overwhelming" that her first international medal was a gold medal.[7]

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, Mitton delayed plans to pursue further studies in marine biology to continue her athletics career, relocating to Toronto and for a time residing with fellow Canadian shot putter Brittany Crew.[2][8] Following her Universiade victory, she made two other major international appearances in 2019, finishing sixth at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, and then making her World Championship debut at the 2019 edition in Doha. Mitton placed twenty-fourth in the qualification round, and did not advance to the event final.[2] She would later attribute her performance to fatigue after a long season.[4]

Tokyo Olympics and Commonwealth Games (2020–2022)

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Mitton and Crew opted to travel to New Zealand in February 2020 after a short off-season, aiming to gain experience in advance of the Olympics. Mitton obtained the necessary Olympic qualification mark at an event in Auckland, also setting a new personal best of 18.84 m, but said that the most gratifying element was competing against and beating legendary New Zealand shot putter Dame Valerie Adams.[4][8] Returning to Canada in early March, she had intended only a short visit to Nova Scotia before turning to Toronto, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant she remained at home for several months.[4] The pandemic significantly affected the international athletic calendar in 2020, including the delay by a full year of the 2020 Summer Olympics, but Mitton continued training and credited Crew as a valuable partner and rival in local events.[8] She was eventually named to the Canadian team for the Tokyo Olympics, but was twenty-eighth in the qualification round and did not advance to the final.[9][10][2] Her later recollection of the episode noted "throwing 16 metres at the Olympics was not fun. I don't want to be in that position ever again."[11]

Continuing to make major strides in 2022, Mitton began by breaking the Canadian indoor record at an invitational challenge in New York with a throw of 19.16 m.[12] She then was seventh in her World Indoor Championships debut. In May, she broke Crew's Canadian outdoor record with a throw of 19.58 m.[11] This in turn earned Mitton her first ever Diamond League invitation, to attend the 2022 Bislett Games in Oslo, a longstanding goal.[13] She placed sixth at the Bislett Games.[14] She then broke the national record again in June with a 20.33 m throw at the Canadian Track and Field Championships. This stood as the best throw in the world to that point in the year.[15][16][17] Her second Diamond League appearance, at the BAUHAUS-galan in Stockholm, saw her win the silver medal with a 19.90 m throw.[14]

Mitton then competed in the shot put event of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, placing second in qualification. In the final she finished fourth overall, with her sixth and final 19.77 m throw equaling the best of Dutch bronze medalist Jessica Schilder, but losing the tiebreaker based on their second-best throw. It was the highest placement ever for a Canadian woman in the shot put. She reasoned afterward that "Doha was 24th. Olympics I was 28th. So to come back and be fourth at a world championship, I think there's a lot more to come."[18] A month later she was part of her first Commonwealth Games team, for the 2022 edition in Birmingham. In third place in the shot put final after five throws, with her final attempt she registered at 19.03 m, 0.05 ahead of defending champion Danniel Thomas-Dodd of Jamaica. Thomas-Dodd failed to regain her place with her own final attempt, earning Mitton the gold medal. She said afterward that "the goal from the beginning was to go out and win it, and we achieved it, though not the way we expected. The competition started out really rough and I started doubting myself mid-competition and pulled myself back... you just have to believe in yourself."[19] At the 2022 NACAC Championships in Freeport, Mitton won the gold medal with a 20.15 metre throw, her second over twenty metres of the year.[20] She then concluded the season in the Diamond League Final in Zürich, winning the silver medal.[21]

World silver and World Indoor gold (2023–present)

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Competing at the Can/Am Classic on January 13, 2023, Mitton raised her Canadian indoor record to 19.80 m.[22] Mitton finished first overall on the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour, including a victory at the Villa de Madrid Indoor Meeting over reigning World champion Chase Ealey, finishing second at all other events.[23] [24] By the end of the indoor season, she had developed bone chips in her right elbow, which she contemplated surgical options for, but did not want to pursue in advance of the upcoming Summer Olympics. Instead, she sought to control it with time off and technique alterations.[6]

Beginning the year's outdoor major competitions on the 2023 Diamond League circuit, she finished fifth in her initial outing at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athlétisme de Rabat with a best throw of only 18.56 metres. Coach Richard Parkinson described it as "a bit of a humbling experience for her. She hasn't had many misfires the last couple of years."[25] Mitton had an underwhelming result at the Meeting de Paris as well, before rebounding to win the Bislett Games in her second appearance in Oslo. This was her first Diamond League victory.[26] After several consecutive throwing events under 19 metres she had reverted to her standard rotational technique.[6] She claimed the Canadian national title again with a throw of 19.69 metres.[27] At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Mitton qualified to the final in fifth place, and then placed second overall with her fifth throw of 20.08 metres, a season's best. Her silver medal, which she called "a fantastic upgrade from last year," was the first for a Canadian woman in the shot put, and one of three medals won by Canadian athletes in the throwing events in Budapest.[28]

Mitton reached the Diamond League Final for the second consecutive season, taking her second silver medal after finishing behind Ealey.[29] To conclude the year, she was part of the Canadian team for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, where she won gold in the shot put.[30]

Beginning the Olympic season, Mitton was named co-captain of the Canadian delegation to the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships alongside Alysha Newman.[31] She won the gold medal with a distance of 20.22 m, a new national indoor record. Mitton described being a world champion as "the moment that cannot be taken away from you."[32] Two months later, she set a new national outdoor record with a 20.68 metre throw at a May event in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania.[33] Named to the Canadian team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Mitton finished first in qualifying for the Olympic shot put, managing a 19.77 m distance on her first attempt. She was the first Canadian woman to reach the Olympic shot put final since 1964.[34] As the defending World champion unexpectedly failed to qualify, Mitton was perceived as the gold medal favourite going into the final, but struggled and finished twelfth of the twelve competitors.[35] Following the disappointment at the Olympics, Mitton resumed competing on the 2024 Diamond League circuit, earning medals that she would describe as "critical to my mental well-being. The best thing is to get back in the circle, do what you know and what you train for." Mitton concluded the season with victory at the Diamond League Final in Brussels, winning with a distance of 20.25 m. She was the first Canadian woman to win a Diamond League title in a field event, and the fourth Canadian to win in any discipline.[36]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   Canada
2015 Pan American Junior Championships Edmonton, Canada 4th Shot put 14.57 m
2017 Summer Universiade Taipei, Taiwan 10th Shot put 16.32 m
2019 Summer Universiade Naples, Italy 1st Shot put 18.31 m
Pan American Games Lima, Peru 6th Shot put 17.62 m
World Championships Doha, Qatar 24th (q) Shot put 17.24 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 28th (q) Shot put 16.62 m
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 7th Shot put 19.02 m
World Championships Eugene, U.S.A. 4th Shot put 19.77 m
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom 1st Shot put 19.03 m
NACAC Championships Freeport, Bahamas 1st Shot put 20.15 m
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd Shot put 20.08 m
Pan American Games Santiago, Chile 1st Shot put 19.19 m
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 1st Shot put 20.22 m
Olympic Games Paris, France 12th Shot put 17.48 m

References

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  1. ^ Sarah Mitton at World Athletics  
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Sarah Mitton". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Brooklyn woman finishes fourth in junior Pan Am shot put". SaltWire Network. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Landells, Steve (28 August 2020). "With quiet determination, Mitton continues on her Olympic path". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Best of student athletics fêted at Lancer banquet". University of Windsor. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Harrison, Doug (27 July 2023). "Sarah Mitton regaining elite shot put form ahead of Canadian nationals, world championships". CBC Sports. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Sarah Mitton wins gold at Summer Universiade in Italy". www.golancers.ca. University of Windsor. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Barnes, Dan (2 October 2020). "Shot putters share strong friendship, sense of competition". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  9. ^ Nichols, Paula (3 July 2021). "Team Canada to have 57 competitors in athletics at Tokyo 2020". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  10. ^ "57 athletes nominated to Canada's Olympic track & field team". CBC Sports. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  11. ^ a b Heroux, Devin (23 June 2022). "Canadian shot-put star Sarah Mitton basking in the most successful stretch of her career". CBC Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  12. ^ Parker, Jim (7 February 2022). "Former Lancer Mitton sets new Canadian women's indoor short put record". Windsor Star. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  13. ^ Barnes, Dan (10 June 2022). "National-record shot puts Sarah Mitton into Diamond League meet". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton earns career-best result at Stockholm Diamond League". CBC Sports. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  15. ^ Gillespie, Kerry (25 June 2022). "'I pretty much lost my mind.' Canadian Sarah Mitton shatters barrier in shot put and serves notice for the worlds". Toronto Star. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  16. ^ Ewing, Lori (25 June 2022). "World's best throw this season for Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton". Yahoo!. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  17. ^ Heroux, Devin (25 June 2022). "Sarah Mitton crushes own Canadian record in women's shot put with world's best throw this season". CBC Sports. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  18. ^ Heroux, Devin (17 July 2022). "Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton narrowly misses podium in women's final at athletics worlds". CBC Sports. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  19. ^ Heroux, Devin (3 August 2022). "Sarah Mitton's shot put title highlights Canada's 5-gold day at Commonwealth Games". CBC Sports. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  20. ^ Heroux, Devin (25 August 2022). "Ascending Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton proud to inspire with breakthrough campaign". CBC Sports. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  21. ^ Harrison, Doug (7 September 2022). "Sarah Mitton places 2nd in shot put at Diamond League Final to end remarkable season". CBC Sports. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  22. ^ Harrison, Doug (14 January 2023). "Sarah Mitton improves indoor shot put record for Canadian women to 19.80 metres". CBC Sports. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  23. ^ Barnes, Dan (27 February 2023). "Sarah Mitton giving it her best shot all over the globe these days". The Toronto Sun. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  24. ^ Harrison, Doug (3 May 2023). "Sarah Mitton aims to add Diamond League hardware to collection and other storylines". CBC Sports. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  25. ^ Harrison, Doug (8 June 2023). "Humbled in Rabat, a healthy Sarah Mitton set for stacked shot put at Meeting de Paris". CBC Sports. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  26. ^ "Canada's Sarah Mitton snares shot put victory at Oslo Diamond League". CBC Sports. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  27. ^ Wells, Nick (30 July 2023). "Sarah Mitton golden in shot put at Canadian national trials, Craig Thorne wins 110m hurdles". CBC Sports. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  28. ^ MacDonald, Glenn (27 August 2023). "Brooklyn's Sarah Mitton becomes first Canadian woman to win shot put medal at world championships". SaltWire. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  29. ^ Harrison, Doug (16 September 2023). "Sarah Mitton denied Diamond League Trophy for 2nd straight year by record-setting Chase Ealey". CBC Sports. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  30. ^ Spencer, Donna (2 November 2023). "Canadian shot putter Mitton, runner Philibert-Thiboutot capture Pan Am gold". CBC Sports. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  31. ^ Fenton, Caela (27 February 2023). "Shot putter Sarah Mitton on her Olympic goals and inspiring the next generation". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Canada's Sarah Mitton wins women's shot put gold at world indoor championships". CBC Sports. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Sarah Mitton sets new Canadian shot put record with world-leading throw". CBC Sports. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  34. ^ Harrison, Doug (August 8, 2024). "Sarah Mitton 1st-ever Canadian woman to advance to Olympic shot put final". CBC Sports. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  35. ^ "Canada's Sarah Mitton, a gold-medal favourite, fouls out of women's shot put". CBC Sports. August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  36. ^ Harrison, Doug (September 13, 2024). "Shot putter Sarah Mitton wins her 1st Diamond League Trophy weeks after Olympic heartbreak". CBC Sports. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
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