Haruka Kitaguchi became the first Japanese athlete to win a Diamond League overall crown when she took the women's javelin on Saturday with a 63.78-meter throw, her fourth win of the season and sixth overall on the circuit.
The 25-year-old, crowned world champion in August in Budapest, finished top of the seven-woman field in Eugene, Oregon, where the most successful athletes from all 14 Diamond League stops, held from May to September, gathered to compete.
Kitaguchi's second of six throws on the day landed her the title ahead of runner-up Tori Peeters of New Zealand, who hurled 61.30, and third-placed Australian Mackenzie Little's 61.24.
"It is great that I've managed to throw 63 meters at a time when the season is coming to an end and I'm starting to feel the fatigue," Kitaguchi said. "What I needed was a win. I'm really happy to have done exactly that here."
Kitaguchi on Sept. 9 broke her own national record with a 67.38-meter throw at a Diamond League meet in Brussels.
