A tough day for Sarah Mitton at the Olympics in Paris.
The shot putter from Brooklyn, N.S., had trouble with her footing on a wet track and did not make it to the podium.
Steady rain made for difficult throwing conditions in the competition.
The 28-year-old threw for 19.77m in her first attempt earlier in the week to become the first Canadian woman to reach the final in the shot-put event at the Olympics.
During the event fans from around Mitton’s home county of Queens gathered at The Astor Theatre in Liverpool.
Each of Mitton’s three throws were met with raucous cheers, and the disappointment was audible when she was failed to qualify for the final heat of the competition.
Astor Theatre in Liverpool filling up as Sarah Mitton’s hometown community gets ready to cheer her on in the shot-put final. @ckbwradio pic.twitter.com/VOvOraMqdW
— Evan Taylor (@evanrtaylor) August 9, 2024
“Obviously it’s not the result we hoped for,” said Ruth Zwicker, a Liverpool local who came to cheer on Mitton, “We’re still all so proud and it was great to see the whole community come out and cheer on Sarah who is just so wonderful.”
The Astor Theatre were the one to put on the watch party and the Operations Coordinator Katie Hopkins was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. “We were expecting big numbers, but not quite as many as we got,” said Hopkins. “I think after talking with people it’s clear she is very much viewed as a hometown hero around Queens.”
