Damian Warner in action at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis (© AFP / Getty Images)
Olympic champion Damian Warner extended his historic Hypo Meeting winning tally by taking his eighth decathlon victory, while Olympic silver medallist Anouk Vetter regained her heptathlon title at the World Athletics Combined Events Challenge Gold meeting in Götzis on Sunday (19).
Warner put together a remarkably consistent series to win the decathlon with 8678 having overtaken early leader Simon Ehammer after the seventh discipline, the discus. Vetter also came from behind, her almighty 57.91m throw in the javelin propelling her into the lead with just one discipline to go.
Warner, contesting his first combined events competition since taking world silver in Budapest last year, ran 10.20 to lead the first event, the 100m. Olympic bronze medallist Ashley Moloney equalled his lifetime best with 10.34, a time matched by Ehammer who took 0.08 off his previous best. Ken Mullings clocked 10.45 and Lindon Victor ran 10.48, also PBs for both men.
World indoor heptathlon champion Ehammer launched himself into the lead after the next event. The 2022 world long jump bronze medallist from Switzerland leapt a best of 8.25m, which put him 81 points ahead of Warner, who jumped 7.80m, while Moloney managed 7.75m and Commonwealth champion Victor a PB of 7.73m.
Ehammer and Warner held on to those positions for the rest of the day, as they respectively threw 14.08m and 14.55m in the shot put, both cleared 2.03m in the high jump and then clocked 48.22 and 47.46 in the 400m. Those marks gave Ehammer a slender 16-point lead over Warner at the end of the first day.
Decathlon leader Simon Ehammer in Götzis (© AFP / Getty Images)
Moloney was third at the half-way stage, having thrown 14.11m in the shot, jumped 2.00m in the high jump and clocked 47.59 in the 400m.
Lithuania’s Edgaras Benkunskas had the best mark in the shot put – a 15.91m PB – and Roosen went quickest in the 400m, running a lifetime best of 46.64. In the high jump, Mullings of The Bahamas joined Ehammer and Warner in clearing the best height of the day, 2.03m, which Tim Nowak and Niels Pittomvils also managed.
At the start of day two, Warner closed the gap on Ehammer to just two points as the Canadian clocked 13.45 in the 110m hurdles. It was just 0.09 shy of his own meeting record, but Ehammer was close behind with 13.55. Mullings was also comfortably inside 14 seconds, his 13.72 clocking moving him up to third overall.
Warner went into the lead thanks to his 46.41m effort in the discus, nine metres farther than Ehammer’s best effort of 37.36m. Victor jumped up to third place after producing the best mark of the day, 52.34m.
Ehammer made up some of the deficit in the pole vault, where he cleared a best of 5.00m, 20cm higher than Warner. Behind the leading duo, just 33 points separated Moloney (4.90m), Victor (4.60m), Johannes Erm (5.10m) and Mullings (4.80m).
A 57.53m effort in the javelin kept Warner in contention for victory, and it meant he headed into the 1500m with a 223-point lead. Ehammer dropped to fourth after throwing just 48.57m, while Victor (59.10m) and Moloney (57.41m) moved into second and third respectively.
Given his leading margin in the overall stakes, Warner didn’t need to push too hard in the 1500m. He completed the event in 4:36.94, giving him a winning score of 8678.
With Ehammer not starting in the 1500m, the battle for podium places was made slightly easier. Sven Roosen, who pushed the pace in the 1500m and finished in 4:20.77, was rewarded with the runner-up spot in a PB and Olympic qualifying mark of 8517. Erm took third place with 8462, 95 points ahead of Moloney, whose tally of 8367 was his best since taking Olympic bronze in 2021. Victor was one point behind in fifth with 8366, and Germany’s Tim Nowak set a PB of 8282 in sixth.
Vetter gets the better of Kalin
Vetter, as is so often the case, got off to a steady start before making her way up the leaderboard on day two to claim victory.
USA’s Michelle Atherley held the early lead after storming to a PB and meeting record of 12.71 in the opening discipline, the 100m hurdles. Beatrice Juskeviciute also had the race of her life, setting a Lithuanian record of 12.87 in the same race to sit in second place ahead of Switzerland’s Annik Kalin, who ran 12.97 to dip under 13 seconds for the first time.
Atherley maintained her lead by clearing the highest bar of the day in the high jump – 1.80m, just 1cm off her PB. That height was also managed by Switzerland’s Mathilde Rey – a PB by a centimetre.
Vetter had a more modest start, clocking 13.64 in the 100m hurdles and clearing 1.74m in the high jump, but she topped the shot put with a best of 15.37m. USA’s Annie Kunz also excelled, throwing 15.14m, but Atherley’s PB of 13.67m was enough to keep her in the top spot.
Anouk Vetter at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis (© AFP / Getty Images)
Germany’s Sophie Weissenberg, who failed to finish the 100m hurdles, continued for a few more disciplines and clocked the fastest 200m performance of the day, running 23.39. Atherley (23.53) and Juskeviciute (23.58) were close behind, while Vetter (23.73) and Kalin (23.72) were closely matched.
By the end of the first day, Atherley had a 118-point lead over Vetter. Britain’s Abigail Pawlett was third and Kalin was fourth.
Those positions all changed after the first discipline of day two as Kalin sailed out to a 6.70m leap in the long jump, giving her a six-point lead over Atherley (6.18m). Vetter jumped a season’s best of 6.47m to stay in contention for victory.
As soon as Vetter opened her account in the javelin, throwing 56.05m, it was clear the Dutch all-rounder had given herself a great shot at victory. She consolidated that with 57.91m in round three, giving her a 201-point lead over Kalin, who threw 45.93m. Atherley managed just one valid attempt, 38.03m, but was still in a podium place with one of her strongest events to come.
Atherley dominated the 800m and clocked a season’s best of 2:08.55, giving her an overall score of 6465, a personal best, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to catch Vetter and Kalin in the overall contest.
Vetter came through the line in 2:21.37, giving her a winning tally of 6642 – the fourth-best mark of her career – while Kalin clocked 2:16.63 to end with a season’s best of 6506. Behind the podium finishers, Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands placed fourth (6337) and Germany’s Vanessa Grimm was fifth (6307).
Leading results
Women’s heptathlon
1 Anouk Vetter (NED) 6642
2 Annik Kalin (SUI) 6506
3 Michelle Atherley (USA) 6465
4 Emma Oosterwegel (NED) 6337
5 Vanessa Grimm (GER) 6307
6 Tori West (AUS) 6245
7 Annie Kunz (USA) 6209
8 Verena Mayr (AUT) 6196
Men’s decathlon
1 Damian Warner (CAN) 8678
2 Sven Roosen (NED) 8517
3 Johannes Erm (EST) 8462
4 Ashley Moloney (AUS) 8367
5 Lindon Victor (GRN) 8366
6 Tim Nowak (GER) 8282
7 Felix Wolter (GER) 8190
8 Ken Mullings (BAH) 8176
