On Tuesday, Hudson became only the third Austrian to win a title at an outdoor European Championship. Before her, Liese Prokop won gold in the pentathlon in 1969 and Ilona Gusenbauer won gold in the high jump in 1971. Before Hudson’s moment of glory, only Herma Bauma, who was also Olympic champion in London in 1948, had won a European Championship medal in the javelin throw, winning silver in Brussels 74 years ago.
The Lower Austrian fulfilled a dream that she had not expected in this form. “I dreamed of winning a medal at some point in my life, but I never thought I would be standing at the top of the podium,” said Hudson in an initial reaction. Coach Gregor Högler, who had already been delighted to see discus ace Lukas Weißhaidinger win a silver medal, also praised his athlete: “She used to be a real surprise. Now she can deliver and has a strong mindset.”
Hudson’s gold throw in the first attempt
Javelin thrower Victoria Hudson has won the gold medal at the European Athletics Championships in Rome. The Austrian won the final with her first throw of 64.62 metres. Serbian Adriana Vilagos came in second. This is only the third outdoor European Championship gold medal for Austria.
Hudson, who had only raised her record to 66.06 m in May, had already delivered in her first attempt in Rome. With 64.24 m, the 28-year-old kept Serbian Adriana Vilagos at a distance of 20 centimeters. Bronze went to Norwegian Marie-Therese Obst with a distance of 63.50. Hudson, who had finished tenth at the 2022 European Championships, had her strongest season last year, when she won the bronze medal at the European Games in Chorzow (Poland) and followed that up with fifth place at the World Championships in Budapest.
TV note
European Athletics Championships in Rome: Final over 1,500 m of the men with Raphael Pallitsch, 10.26 p.m. live on ORF Sport +.
When the feeling is deceptive
The new European champion had not been feeling good about the final at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. “It was definitely not my best day,” said Hudson, whose feeling did not improve during the throw-in. But the 28-year-old pushed aside thoughts of medals at the right moment: “After the bad throw-in, I said to myself: you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. Now try to get your first attempt solid.”
Nevertheless, Hudson followed coach Högler’s instructions to be the first competitor in the final to give it her all in the first throw. At first, however, the Austrian was sure that the risk had not paid off. “When I saw the 64.24 m flash, I thought there was a measurement error,” Hudson said after the competition about the decisive scene of the evening. Only Vilagos briefly created some excitement, but like the rest of her competitors, she was unable to match the Austrian’s distance.
GEPA/Patrick Steiner Hudson’s first stop after the triumph was coach Gregor Högler
“Full Attack” goes on air for the first time
Coach Högler, himself a former Olympic participant, was also pleased that the tactic had worked this time: “We’ve tried it a few times. Full attack, right from the start. But it’s never really worked for us. And the first throw didn’t look so good for me either. But the 64.62 m in the first attempt did have an impact on the others,” said the Austrian record holder in javelin throwing.
The 51-year-old Högler can already feel like coach of the year now that he has Hudson and Weißhaidinger, the two successful “horses” of domestic athletics, in his “stable”. “I have often said beforehand: two disciplines, two world-class athletes, two genders, two medals, that is our goal. But the fact that we now really have gold from Victoria and silver from Lukas makes me incredibly proud,” said Högler, who highlighted the work of the entire team as the recipe for success.
The medal will not become a tangible reality for Hudson until Wednesday evening, when the award ceremony takes place on the Medal Plaza of the 1960 Olympic Stadium. “Only then will I be able to really process this incredible evening,” said Hudson. Later at home, a medal photo with Weißhaidinger is also “mandatory”. Otherwise, the focus was already on the next highlight of the year: the Olympic athletics competitions starting on August 1 in Paris. There, too, the new European champion in javelin throwing and the discus runner-up are now part of the extended circle of medal candidates.
