Sophie Hitchon hails rise in women hammer-throwers after Rio 2016 bronze

David Churchill7 August 2017

Sophie Hitchon today hailed a rise in women hammer-throwers following her historic medal at the Rio Olympics.

The 26-year-old from Lancashire became the first Briton to win an Olympic medal in the sport since 1924, snatching bronze with the last throw of the competition.

She sees tonight’s final as another chance to promote the sport after breezing through Saturday’s first round with a 73.05m automatic qualifying throw.

She said: “It’s great when you get messages saying, ‘I want to try hammer now’. We’ve got a lot of girls now coming through and we’re doing well. It’s really nice to see more women throwing hammer. But I’d love to see even more.”

Hitchon, right, has credited her nimble footwork in the hammer throw to being a ballet dancer at primary school. She said she believes more women are taking up the sport because female throwers look “more like track athletes” and do not have to bulk up. She said: “I never felt pressure to look like a certain way, whether that was big or not, I think each athlete just plays to their advantages.”

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