Aretha Thurmond separated by six centimeters from second straight world champs finals...
That's the difference between Renton High School and University of Washington alum Aretha Thurmond competing in Sunday night's discus final at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships and watching it in the stands at Daegu Stadium.
Thurmond, who was bidding to make her third straight world championship or Olympic final fell just short, finishing 13th in overall group qualifying, one spot shy of twelfth place, throwing 196-5 (59.88), three inches short of Russia's Darya Pishchalnikova who threw 196-8 (59.96m).
Thurmond opened up this morning's qualifying round with a toss of 196-5, and felt that she was on her way to Sunday's final.
In round two, she fouled, throwing the discus left and out of the sector. In the final round, she threw 195-2 (59.48).
Afterwards, a disappointed Thurmond said, "If you try to attack it too much with the upper body, it's never gonna be as good as you want it to be. If you come up early, you're never gonna come up with as good of a throw. The power was there, but it went left sector."
Talking about that foul in round 2, she said, "If you mistime it a little bit, it could go right, or it could go left. It's not anything that you lose faith in. I felt good, and I knew I had it in me. I just know that if I had just gotten through this qualifying round, it would have been a different ball game."
"Can I throw that on any given day? Yes, but I didn't do it today."
Talking about the rest of the season, she said, "I've had a great season this year, as I've been consistent and I know I can throw far. I'm gonna go home and regroup and get ready for the Diamond League finals."
Later this evening, former Ft. Lewis resident Michael Mai will throw in group B of the men's hammer at 10 pm, local time in Daegu.
Day 1 results from the IAAF World Track & Field Championships can be accessed here.
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