In the end, she fell just short of the qualifying standard for the European Championships, which are due to take place in Birmingham in August, by just under 80 centimetres. “I would have loved to have achieved that,” confirms Victoria Krause. Nevertheless, after two difficult years marred by injuries, the top athlete from the University of Wuppertal is satisfied overall. “The fact that I didn’t go any further was also down to the challenging conditions. Changing winds, including a strong headwind at times, aren’t exactly ideal for the javelin throw,” explains Krause.

With her silver medal, the Wuppertal native improved on her result from three years ago, when she won bronze. She achieved the winning throw of 57.11 metres in her second attempt, falling just half a metre short of her season’s best of 57.67 metres.