Emilianov wins discus gold at World U20 Championships

TAMPERE, Finland – Kansas track & field freshman Alexandra Emilianov won the gold medal in the women’s discus at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland on Thursday, competing for her home country of Moldova.
 
Emilianov, the 2018 Big 12 women’s discus champion and a Second Team All-American at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, won the gold medal at the World U20 Championships with a throw of 57.89 meters (189-11 ft.) on her fourth attempt of the day.
 
Entering Thursday’s final as the leader coming out of the qualification round, Emilianov fouled on her first attempt but rebounded with a mark of 57.06 meters (187-2 ft.) on her second throw to take the lead, before ultimately hitting her winning mark two throw later.
 
Emilianov’s winning mark of 57.89 meters is the No. 5 mark in KU history and her second round attempt of 57.06 meters (187-2 ft.) is the No. 6 mark in the program record books. She also recorded a throw of 57.05 meters (187-2 ft.) in the qualification round on Tuesday, which now ranks No. 7 in KU history. In total, Emilianov has six of the top-10 marks in school history, including the school record of 60.24 meters (197-8 ft.), which won her the Big 12 title.
 
Kansas signee Zach Bradford, representing the United States, will compete in the final of the men’s pole vault in Tampere on Saturday at 1:50 p.m. local time (5:50 a.m. CDT).
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