Armed with new Canadian mark, shot putter Mitton chasing big throws on Diamond League circuit

Sarah Mitton describes her latest Canadian record and season world-leading throw as a "gift" during a tough training block.

She said her coach, Rich Parkinson, encouraged her to enter a shot put competition before this Sunday's Diamond League stop in Marrakech, Morocco, believing she could top her 20.33-metre national mark from the 2022 Canadian championships.

Mitton wasted little time proving Parkinson right, unleashing a 20.68 throw on her first attempt last Saturday at the Throws U 2024 Series meeting in Fleetwood, Pa.

"I had been throwing exceptionally well in training, so we decided to put it to the test in a meet environment and I was able to put out an even further distance in competition," she told CBC Sports this week.

Big throws, on demand, is what she'll need for the women's Olympic final on Aug. 9 in Paris.

"It's all part of the process of chasing those higher numbers for Paris," Mitton said. "I wasn't throwing nearly in my best technical rhythm [in Fleetwood] so there's more centimetres in there."

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