‘Nothing to hang her head about’: Hometown pride after N.S. Olympian falls short

HALIFAX — It was a bittersweet afternoon for the people of Liverpool, N.S., on Friday after local athlete Sarah Mitton fell short in her bid to be the first Canadian woman on the Olympic podium for shot put.

Approximately 200 “very proud” Liverpool residents wearing red and white packed the Astor Theatre in the small community on Nova Scotia’s South Shore to watch Mitton on the big screen as she competed in the Olympic shot put finals in Paris, an organizer said.

The 28-year-old Brooklyn, N.S., native was eliminated in the first half of the finals after just three throws and placed 12th overall. Her best throw of the finals was 17.48 metres, well back of the 20 metres attained by German gold medallist Yemisi Ogunleye.

Ken Bagnell, CEO of Canadian Sport Institute Atlantic, said the crowd’s pride outshone the disappointment as Mitton fouled out on her final throw. “Everyone was leaving saying how proud they are of Sarah,” said Bagnell, who helped organize the watch party.

Nicole Ramey, a former shot put and discus thrower and sport consultant with Sport Nova Scotia said Mitton had “nothing to hang her head about,” and that getting to the finals is a “huge accomplishment.”

“Just the amount of young girls that she has inspired to try shot put … Sarah has brought a whole new life to the world of shot put, which is phenomenal for small towns like … Liverpool and Nova Scotia in general,” Ramey said in an interview.

Mitton qualified for the final on Thursday when she threw a distance of 19.77 metres on her first attempt. She was looking to become the first Canadian woman to win a medal in the event.

On Friday morning, Queen’s County Mayor Darlene Norman said the community was “overly ecstatic” at the prospect of cheering on Mitton, who she says has strong hometown roots. “We’re just so proud,” Norman said in a phone interview.

Mitton isn’t the only athlete from small-town Nova Scotia seeing success at this year’s Games. Wyatt Sanford of Kennetcook won a bronze medal in boxing, the first Canadian medal in the sport since 1996.

Norman said Mitton’s Olympic performance is evidence that athletes from outside urban centres, such as Kennetcook or Brooklyn, can reach great heights on the world stage.

“We feel that she belongs to us, and we are just so happy to see a young woman who came from a community that did not have a lot of built infrastructure, but yet she had the skill,” she said.

Mitton competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, where she placed 28th overall.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2024.

Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press