New Zealand hammer thrower Julia Ratcliffe has finished ninth in the women's hammer throw final at the Tokyo Olympics this evening.
The 28-year-old threw consistently but was unable to find another gear to push herself into the top half of the competition.
Ratcliffe threw 72.61m with her first throw to put her in third position, but could only improve that to 72.69m with her second, as her rivals found their range and pushed her down to eighth.
A 71.79m final throw was not enough to get her into the second half of the final. A big throw by Romanian Bianca Ghelber pushed Ratcliffe down to ninth and out of the competition. Only the top eight qualified for the final three attempts.
Two-time defending champion Anita Wlodarczyk, of Poland, defended her title once more, throwing a best of 78.48m. Zheng Wang, of China, won silver, while fellow Pole Malwina Kopron took bronze.
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