Losch was thought to have the measure of Loghin, having beaten her
by nearly half a metre at the European Indoor championships. The West
German confirmed this advantage with her opening two throws, reach-
ing 19.97 and then 20.31, while Loghin managed 19.73. However, the
Romanian closed up with 19.95 and then took the lead with 20.47.
Losch threw 19.96 before the competition was interrupted for a victory
ceremony which gave her time to “think about my technique for the last
throw”. She reached 20.48 to take the gold by a centimetre. Martin was
the one other athlete to reach 19m, and the standard slid sharply, as
only Oakes of the other throwers could reach 18m. The Eastern block
“Druzhba” meeting saw Lisovskaya throw 21.96, as Losch placed seventh
with 19.78.