DID Natalya Lisovskaya really throw the shot put this far? - 22.63, 22.60, 22.55, 22.53, 22.53
...always in her own country, seemingly no film of them. ...can countries with state-sponsored doping etc, be trusted to measure distances properly and verify implements properly ?
The world record was previously held by an East German, not a Russian.
But I have to give her credit for her 22.24 distance at the 1988 Olympics. (not including the clean urine-sample she had 'stashed')
Natalya, Ilona, Helena ......Claudia, Ivanka...all these top shot putters have names that finish with an 'A' ...you have to go all the way down the list to East German Marianna A. Adam, before you find a name with no 'A' in it.
But Natalya, Ilona and Helena really stand out. They wanted to push the limits, no matter what it looked like. ...and ended up throwing nearly a 100cm further than nearly all of the other longest throwers in history so far. ...and that wasn't to win competitions...that was just to do all it takes to throw as far as possible.
So Natalya has the world record in 1984...she knows it's hers and it's probably unlikely anyone will break it. (certainly not the other big 2, at that stage) - YET...she ups the record twice in 1987. - further out of reach. ...THEN...in a flurry of local competitions (& Cork) in 1988, she clearly tries a number of times to break the record YET again. ...but falls short, despite many tries in barely competitive competitions. ...getting her shoulder 'in' for the Olympics ? ...OR...trying to set an even longer world record...just before a certain blood-testing rule change in 1989 ??
...and guess who never went over even 21 meters again, after 1988........? - but I love her.
...still not sure I trust every local measurement and put-weight.