Maddy Wesche-Lee got her shot put campaign off to a promising start in the qualifying round when she banged out a 19.25m effort with her second throw.
Wesche-Lee threw a respectable 18.59s first up, then her second throw was well beyond the 19.15m qualifying mark.
So just like that, after very little time in the middle, the New Zealander’s work was done, and she’ll now prepare for tomorrow’s final.
In the last Olympics, Wesche-Lee was sixth and she is looking to better that performance in Tokyo.
Wesche-Lee, 25, said her first throw wasn’t what she wanted but she eased into the competition and got comfortable and was happy with her pattern and rhythm in the second throw.
“It gives me a lot of confidence. There’s a nice atmosphere out there. I liked a cool, calm, easy environment and that’s what’s it’s like among the shot putters, so I enjoy that.”
The leading qualifier was Canadian Sarah Mitton with 19.77m.
James Preston was unable to make any impact in his 800m repechage today.
Carrying an achilles tendon injury that has hampered his training for more than two months, Preston ran 1min 50.53s, and was sixth in a race he needed to win to progress.
Preston, 27, said he felt very stiff when he woke up and was unable to jog before his race, warming up instead on the bike. "I thought I'd like to go out there and run. I don't know when I'll be back here again," he said.