Hyleas Fountain leads the heptathlon after two events, thanks to her high jump PB (© Getty Images)
Fountain shines in High Jump
World leading heptathlete Hyleas Fountain (USA) continued her personal best setting run in the second event of the Heptathlon, High Jump. The American, who had only jumped 1.81m earlier this season, bettered her three-year-old PB by 1cm clearing 1.89m today. Fountain is already a massive 82 points ahead of her world leading personal best total score 6667p and is leading the competition clearly after two events with 2251 points.
Australian Kylie Wheeler was the second athlete to clear personal best height 1.89m which was a bit of a surprise because she had only jumped 1.78m before this season. Wheeler’s previous PB was 1.86m from 2005. 28-year-old has started well, but is not fighting for the medals at this stage.
Anna Bogdanova (RUS), Lyudmyla Blonska (UKR) and Marie Collonvillé (FRA) cleared 1.86m each. Blonska has started well although is still far behind her personal best series from Osaka last year. The Ukrainian however jumped a season’s best in the High Jump adding 6cm to the previous result and is already in third place in the competition having scored 2132 points at this stage. Bogdanova is second after two events with 2165, but she has to do better in the next events to stay there.
Kelly Sotherton (GBR) fell short of her goal in the High Jump only clearing 1.83m. The Briton is now fifth with 2113, but the small disappointment means she has to do extremely well in the Shot Put to stay within reach for the medal podium.
The most meaningful result in the High Jump was 1.83m by Tatyana Chernova. The Russian added a mighty 10cm to her season’s best heptathlon series (6618) and has already scored 117 points more than she did in that competition in Götzis. Only 20-year-old Chernova has changed her course from Osaka where she fell well short of others in the first events having started the competition with the best result overall.
In the big picture three athletes at the top, Fountain, Chernova and Blonska have started with the best results and others will have to gain points in rest of the events to challenge them for the medals.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
Please NOTE when reading each event report that Silver medallist Lyudmyla Blonska failed a drugs test and so lost her medal
