World Indoor silver medalist Jessica Schilder, opened her 2025 Diamond League campaign in spectacular fashion. At the Xiamen Diamond League, she unleashed a massive 20.47m (67-2) throw, a national record and world-leading mark, to dominate the competition ahead of two-time world champion Chase Jackson (20.31m) and China’s Gong Lijiao (19.62m).
However, the second Diamond League stop in Shanghai told a different story. Chase Jackson roared back with a meeting record and season-best 20.54m, her best-ever outdoor throw. Schilder, meanwhile, secured second place with 19.77m, while Sweden’s Fanny Roos set a new national record (19.66m) for third.
Despite finishing on the podium, Schilder did not feel entirely satisfied.
“I was not really happy with the result today,” she admitted.
“I think during the competition, I wanted it too much, and three times, the shot went through my fingers, which has never happened before. So, I have to go home with second place.”
Despite the setback, Schilder remains optimistic, revealing plans to make adjustments in training to fine-tune her technique.
“Even on a bad day, I still threw 19.50m-plus, so I’m happy with that. We’re making some changes to get back into shape. I need to get used to the technique again when I go home for more training and use it the right way. I’m confident we’ll find it again.”
Schilder has enjoyed a remarkable run in recent years. The 25-year-old claimed back-to-back European outdoor titles — first in Munich 2022 with a 20.24m throw, then in Rome 2024 with 18.77m and crowned her achievements with a national indoor record of 20.69m at the 2025 European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn.
On the global stage, Schilder has consistently featured on podiums. She took bronze at both the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade and the World Outdoor Championships in Oregon.
As the Diamond League season continues, Schilder remains firmly in contention for top honours.
