Cleopatra Borel struck gold in the women's shot put at the 48th Palio Città della Quercia meet, in Rovereto, Italy, yesterday.

The Trinidad and Tobago field athlete topped the field with a big 18.82 metres effort--her best throw this season.

Borel led the competition from the first round to the last. She opened with an 18.06m throw, and improved to 18.37m in round two. Borel's next three throws were 18.14m, 17.83m and 16.35m. But in the final round, she threw the iron ball 18.82m for a grand finish in Rovereto.

The victory was the first in Europe this season for Borel.

At the Olympic Games, in London, England, Borel finished 13th in the qualifying competition with an 18.36m throw, missing out on a spot in the 12-woman final by just nine centimetres.

The T&T thrower was later promoted to 12th, following the disqualification of Nadzeya Ostapchuk. The Belarusian thrower tested positive, and was stripped of the gold medal. The drug cheat's participation at the London Games robbed Borel of the opportunity to throw in the final.

Borel has competed in seven post-Olympic meets in Europe. She threw 18.11m for sixth spot at the DN Galan meet in Sweden. In Hungary, Borel was second with an 18.58m effort. At the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, she threw 18.50m to finish fourth. The Mayaro-born field athlete was third in Birmingham, England with an 18.36m heave. In Zurich, Switzerland, she threw 18.66m for third spot. Borel improved to second in Padova, Italy with an 18.71m effort. And yesterday, in Rovereto, Italy, the T&T field athlete emerged victorious with her 18.82m heave.