Chase Jackson (née Ealey) is back on top of the podium this past weekend in China at the River Delta Athletics Yangtze Diamond Gala. Her 20.54m toss was enough to better Jessica Schilder’s throw of 19.77m and Fanny Roos’ throw of 19.66m.
The 30-year-old is the defending champion at the past two World Athletics Championships. However, she had a disappointing result last summer in Paris when she failed to qualify for the final. She’ll be looking to regain top spot on the podium at this year’s World Championships held in Tokyo this September.
Jackson’s mark was a season’s best and a 23-centimeter improvement over her 20.21m that captured second place at the Wanda Diamond League Xiamen event the week before, where it was Schilder who walked away with the top mark. Schilder also has the top mark in the world this year at 20.69m.
Jackson currently holds the top spot in the world rankings, and her throw this past weekend is the third longest in the world this year behind Schilder’s mark and Canada’s Sarah Mitton’s mark of 20.68m.
More than four months out from the World Championships, the women’s shot put has already heated up as Jackson, Mitton, and Schilder stand out as the early favorites to land on the podium. These three women also held the three longest throws in 2024.
Schilder’s mark is the longest in the world since Jackson’s 20.76m throw in September 2023.
The Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye will also be fighting to keep her spot on top of the international spotlight. She currently has the next longest throw this year at 20.27m, which is actually farther than her Olympic winning distance of 20.00m last summer.
The next Diamond League event featuring the women’s shot put will be Meeting Herculis in Monaco on July 11.
