Like John Godina in the Gothenburg men’s shot put final, Astrid Kumbernuss dominated from the start.
Her opener of 20.52 would have been good enough to win as would all her valid puts.
Kumbernuss, sporting heavily strapped knees, produced a put in the third round which landed much
further than the three arcs marked on the throwing sector. It was a personal best of 21.22 which
gave her a lead of 1.18m from defending champion Huang. That is how it finished, with the widest
winning margin ever at world or Olympic level. Mitkova took the bronze from Neimke in the final round.
World Record: Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) 22.63m 07.06.87 Moskva, Soviet Union
European Championship Record: Natalya Lisovskaya (URS) 21.24m 05.09.87 Roma, Italy