The women’s shot put competition at the Paris Olympics was defined not just by who landed on the podium, but also by who, one way or another, didn’t. When push came to shove, Germany’s Yemisi Ogunleye, New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche, and China’s Song Jiayuan brought their best stuff for yesterday’s final and each collected their first outdoor global medal.

Here’s what you need to know:

- The first major development of this competition came in qualifying, where reigning two-time World champion Chase Jackson failed to make the final. Jackson fouled each of her first two throws, and needing at least 18.16m to qualify, she could only manage 17.60m in round three. Jackson had thrown at least 18.16m in every competition dating back to last June, so it was simply a case of having an off day at the most unfortunate of times.

- With Jackson out of the picture, World Indoor champ Sarah Mitton was the clear favorite for gold, owning the world lead with a mark of 20.68m from May and posting the best mark in qualifying at 19.77m. But a heavy band of rain hit Stade De France in between the end of warmups and the start of the final, and the wet conditions proved to have a big effect on the early rounds of the competition. Like we saw in the men’s final last week, it can be really damn hard to throw well in a wet circle. Mitton and Tokyo silver medalist Raven Saunders were most affected by the conditions, as they finished 12th and 11th, respectively. Saunders was a strong contender to medal at the very least, so seeing both them and Mitton land at the bottom of the results in the final was a true stunner.

- NCAA champion Jaida Ross put out a strong mark on the very first throw of the final, 19.28m, and was in the pole position through the first round. Round two saw Wesche and Ogunleye both go big, recording throws of 19.58m and 19.55m, respectively. From this point, these two were clear of the rest of the field and the battle was on for gold.

- Ogunleye took the lead for the first time in the competition with a mark of 19.73m in round five, but Wesche answered on the very next throw with a PB of 19.86m to reclaim the lead.

- Sitting 13cm back of the lead with one throw left, Ogunleye launched her sixth round effort directly onto the 20m tape, coming away with the second-best mark of her career at exactly 20.00m. Wesche had a respectable 19.68m throw to close out the competition, but it wasn’t enough to get back atop the podium.

- Song overtook Ross in round four by a mere 4cm, throwing 19.32m, and then held on for bronze over the last two rounds.

By the numbers:

- Two years ago, Ogunleye failed to qualify for the World Championships in Eugene and had a PB of 18.14m. Today, she’s an Olympic champion, World Indoor silver medallist, and is the fourth-best German shot putter since reunification by PB. She is the first German woman to win this title since Astrid Kumbernuss did so in 1996. This was the fourth time in the last seven Games the winner of this event was decided in round six.

- Wesche is the definition of a championship performer. Starting with the last Olympics in Tokyo, Wesche has set a PB in every single global championship she’s competed in. Her medal last night continues a streak of five straight Olympics with a Kiwi thrower landing on the podium in this event, with the first four being Valerie Adams.

- Gong Lijiao finished fifth at 19.27m in her fifth Olympic appearance. Across every outdoor global championship since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Gong has appeared in every one – this is her lowest finish. It is also only the second time she’s landed off the podium, after a fourth-place finish in Rio.

Full results:

1. Yemisi Ogunleye - 20.00m

2. Maddison-Lee Wesche - 19.86m

3. Jiayuan Song - 19.32m

4. Jaida Ross - 19.28m

5. Lijiao Gong - 19.27m

6. Jessica Schilder - 18.91m

7. Fanny Roos - 18.78m

8. Jessica Inchude - 18.41m

9. Alina Kenzel - 18.29m

10. Axelina Johansson - 18.03m

11. Raven Saunders - 17.79m

12. Sarah Mitton - 17.48m

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