Two years ago she won bronze – this time the medal shines golden! The Wendlingen hammer thrower Aileen Kuhn from Eintracht Frankfurt impressively secured the gold medal at the U23 European Championships in Bergen, Norway, on Friday evening, confirming her role as Europe’s best athlete of the year.
Even before the competition, Aileen Kuhn was considered a promising candidate for the European title with her season’s best. However, her first attempt got off to a turbulent start: although her hammer flew well over the 70-meter mark, the throw was invalidated. However, the 21-year-old did not let this upset her. A safety throw of 69.14 meters in the second round brought her third place.
She then found her rhythm in her third attempt: with an impressive 71.70 meters, she catapulted herself to the top position. But that was not all – Kuhn even went one better in the fourth round and improved her best performance of the year to a strong 72.53 meters. This put her well ahead of her competitors, as distances of over 70 meters were also required for the other medals this time. Silver ultimately went to Nicola Tuthill from Ireland, who also put in a strong performance with 70.90 meters.
“I’m extremely proud that I was able to win here as the favorite,” explained Kuhn after her triumph. “I was a bit nervous after my first invalid throw, but after that I was able to improve step by step. The atmosphere here got better with every attempt and really pushed me.” It was particularly impressive for her that three athletes exceeded the 70-meter mark: “Two years ago I won bronze with 68 meters, this time not even 70 meters was enough for a medal – that shows how strong the competition has become.”
A decisive factor in Kuhn’s improved performance was also the change in her technique: together with her new coach Kathrin Klaas, she switched from three to four spins. “That also explains my improved performance,” explained the newly crowned European champion.