GRACE Wong may have produced a season’s best at the Asian Games, but the national hammer thrower knows she still has some catching up to do against the mighty Chinese.
The national athlete finished sixth with a throw of 64.15m at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium yesterday, more than a metre short of her personal best.
Her national record is 65.41m and the 26-year-old from Sarawak previous season’s best is 61.98m set at the Malaysian Open.
Grace fouled her first attempt before landing 63.61m in the second.
She then produced her best effort in the third and was hoping to build momentum over the remaining three throws.
However, her next attempts of 63.52m, 62.11m and 59.26m showed a gradual decline.
Her best throw was still nowhere near that of China’s Zhang Jiale, who won gold and broke the Asian record with a throw of 78.27m.
The previous mark of 78.22m was held by compatriot Zhao Jie, who took silver with 74.83m.
Japan’s Joy Iris McArthur claimed bronze with 68.42m, a season’s best.
Grace’s next assignment is the Asean University Games in November, where she hopes to end the season on a stronger note.
