Athletics: Kitaguchi wins women’s javelin at Diamond League finale

BRUSSELS (Kyodo) — Japan’s Paris Olympics gold medalist Haruka Kitaguchi won the women’s javelin title on Saturday at the season-ending Diamond League meet with a season’s best throw of 66.13 meters.

Competed among the top-scoring athletes from this season’s previous meets, Kitaguchi led after reaching 65.08 with her second throw. Adriana Vilagos of Serbia threw 65.23 with her sixth and final attempt, but Kitaguchi snatched the win with her own final throw in Brussels.

“My condition dipped after the Paris Olympics and I hadn’t been able to train for around three weeks. I was really anxious,” the 26-year-old Kitaguchi said.

“I’m always someone who turns up on the sixth throw, so I thought, ‘Bring it on.'”

Kitaguchi won the season-ending meet for the second straight time. It was her third win on the circuit this season and ninth overall.

Maggie Malone-Hardin of the United States was third with a hurl of 62.40