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Carolin Schafer in the heptathlon 100m hurdles in Ratingen

Chari Hawkins in the heptathlon 200m in Arona

Damian Warner in the decathlon discus in Gotzis

Estonia&rsquo;s Johannes Erm won the decathlon and Colombia&rsquo;s Martha Araujo was victorious in the heptathlon at the Decastar meeting, this season&rsquo;s final World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold event, in Talence on Saturday and Sunday (14-15).
In a year that has included a European title win, sixth place at the Olympics and bronze at the World Indoor Championships, Erm achieved the second-best score of his career &ndash; 8589 points &ndash; to end his season on a high. That performance clinched him the win by 72 points ahead of Sander Skotheim of Norway, while Sven Roosen of the Netherlands was third on 8293.
Araujo has improved with every competition this year and in Talence she scored a South American record of 6429 points. That followed the then lifetime best of 6386 she set to secure seventh place at the Paris Olympics, while she also scored 6329 at the Colombian Championships in June and 6274 at the Ibero American Championships in May.
That PB performance in Talence put her 156 points ahead of defending champion Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands, who had finished joint seventh with Araujo in Paris, while USA&rsquo;s Michelle Atherley was third on 6267.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66e729f1b929ab50920ec4be.jpg" alt="Martha Araujo celebrates her performance in Talence" />
Martha Araujo celebrates her performance in Talence (&copy; Team Photo / Pascal Laplassotte)
</div>
It ended up being close at the top in the decathlon. Germany&rsquo;s Manuel Eitel got the strongest start, clocking 10.56 in the 100m, as Roosen ran 10.71 and Erm 10.79. Skotheim launched himself into the lead as he soared 7.70m in the long jump, Erm managing 7.37m and Roosen 7.34m.
Belgium&rsquo;s Niels Pittomvils and Roosen were the two athletes to surpass 15 metres in the shot put, Pittomvils throwing 15.15m and Roosen 15.06m. Erm was next on 14.79m. That moved Roosen up to second just 15 points behind Eitel, with Skotheim third only another 10 points back and Erm a close fourth.
Skotheim then soared ahead as he cleared 2.11m in the high jump, six centimetres higher than anyone else, and ran 47.51 in a 400m topped by Roosen&rsquo;s 46.72. Erm was next best on 47.27.
The first day ended with Skotheim on 4444 points, 112 ahead of Erm. Belgium&rsquo;s Jente Hauttekeete had moved up into third place on 4241.
That order was maintained after the first event on day two, the 110m hurdles, as Skotheim clocked 14.17, the same as Hauttekeete, while Roosen ran 14.12 and Erm 14.21. Skotheim then held on to his lead after a 44.75m discus throw but Erm moved up into second with a leading mark of 47.25m.
A big PB 5.37m vault by Erm made the difference. He was the sole athlete to manage five metres or more and so leapt above Skotheim overall, with 7119 points to 6999. Erm was then one of three athletes to surpass 60 metres in the javelin as he threw 60.47m to Jose Fernando Ferreira Santana&rsquo;s 64.87m, while Devon Williams managed 60.01m. With one event &ndash; the 1500m &ndash; to go, Erm sat top on 7864, 140 ahead of Skotheim.
That&rsquo;s how the top two remained, with Erm running 4:33.04 and holding on to secure victory with 8589 points ahead of Skotheim (4:22.74) with 8517. Roosen (4:24.91) moved up into third on 8293, 25 points ahead of Hauttekeete with 8268.
Araujo opened her heptathlon campaign with 13.12 in the 100m hurdles, with only Atherley (13.04) going faster. Araujo then cleared a PB of 1.75m in the high jump, adding two centimetres to her previous best, to move into the overall lead.
Germany&rsquo;s Vanessa Grimm had the best mark in the shot put, throwing 14.37m, as Araujo managed 13.38m and then clocked 24.31 in the 200m. That left her on 3726 points at the end of the first day, 42 ahead of Atherley on 3684. Poland&rsquo;s Adrianna Sulek-Schubert was third on 3638 and Sweden&rsquo;s Lovisa Karlsson fourth on 3610.
Araujo and Karlsson continued their impressive form at the start of day two, leaping 6.49m and 6.55m respectively in the long jump. That put them in the top two spots, separated by 97 points, after five events. But there was disappointment for Grimm, who did not return to competition following the 200m.
Germany&rsquo;s Marie Dehning and Oosterwegel dominated the javelin, respectively throwing 53.18m and 52.56m. Araujo also surpassed 50 metres with 50.64m and that maintained her leading position overall, as she sat top on 5603, 272 ahead of Oosterwegel, with Atherley another 58 points off with one event to go.
Atherley went quickest in the 800m, running 2:08.01, but Araujo&rsquo;s 2:19.80 was more than enough to clinch her the win as she scored her total of 6429, 156 ahead of Oosterwegel who ran 2:11.56, with Atherley third on 6267 and Karlsson fourth on 6111.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-combined-events-tour/calendar-results/7196993/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Estonia’s Johannes Erm won the decathlon and Colombia’s Martha Araujo was victorious in the heptathlon at the Decastar meeting

Erm and Araujo triumphant in Talence

Global medallists Lindon Victor and Emma Oosterwegel will be among the athletes looking to end their seasons on a high at the Decastar meeting, this season&rsquo;s final World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold event, in Talence this weekend (14-15).
Grenada&rsquo;s Victor claimed Olympic decathlon bronze in Paris, matching the colour of medal he secured at the World Championships in Budapest last year, while Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Oosterwegel of the Netherlands finished seventh in the heptathlon in Paris.
Now they return to Talence on the hunt for further victory, following their wins in 2022, and 2022 and 2023, respectively. Victor achieved 8550 points when winning his Decastar title two years ago and that remains the third-best score of his career behind the national record of 8756 he set in Budapest and the 8711 he managed in Paris. Oosterwegel&rsquo;s PB of 6590 was set when she claimed her Olympic medal in Tokyo, with the score of 6495 that she set to win in Talence last year remaining the second-best mark of her career. In 2022 she was a joint Decastar winner alongside Ivona Dadic, and the Austrian athlete also returns to Talence this weekend.
The decathlon field features 12 athletes who have surpassed 8000 points in the 10-event discipline, with Victor joined by fellow 8600 point-plus athletes Johannes Erm of Estonia, Sander Skotheim of Norway and Sven Roosen of the Netherlands.
Erm won the European title in Rome in June, setting a PB of 8764 that puts him third on this season&rsquo;s top list and 14th on the world all-time list, one place above Victor. He followed that with 8569 to finish sixth at the Paris Olympics and also claimed world indoor heptathlon bronze in Glasgow in March.
Talence gives him the opportunity for a rematch with Skotheim, who claimed heptathlon silver ahead of Erm in Glasgow but finished runner-up to his Estonian rival in Rome.
Roosen finished fourth, one place behind Victor, at the Paris Olympics as he scored a national record of 8607.&nbsp;
Germany&rsquo;s Manuel Eitel has finished runner-up at the past two editions of Decastar and will be looking to go one better this time around. Also returning are USA&rsquo;s Devon Williams and Belgium&rsquo;s Jente Hauttekeete, while Brazil&rsquo;s Jose Fernando Ferreira Santana joins them on the entry list following a PB performance of 8213 in Paris.
In the heptathlon, Oosterwegel and Dadic are among 15 athletes in the field who have surpassed 6000 points in their careers so far.
Like Oosterwegel, Dadic has a PB above 6500 points, thanks to the 6552 score she achieved at the European Championships in Berlin in 2018. She will be looking to rebound after falling in the 100m hurdles in Ratingen in June as she contests her first heptathlon since then. Prior to that she scored 6115 at the Hypomeeting in Gotzis in May.
Her compatriot Verena Mayr also returns to Talence and as it was for Dadic, Gotzis was the scene of Mayr&rsquo;s most recent full heptathlon as she scored 6196.
Poland&rsquo;s Adrianna Sulek-Schubert gave birth to her son in February, but she returned to competition in June, scoring 6033 at an event in Warsaw, and competed at the Olympics, finishing 12th with 6226.
Colombia&rsquo;s Martha Araujo secured seventh place at the Paris Olympics with a PB of 6386 and she also scored 6329 at the Colombian Championships in June and 6274 at the Ibero American Championships in May.
Another athlete looking to make a statement will be USA&rsquo;s Michelle Atherley, who scored a PB of 6465 in Gotzis in May, while Germany&rsquo;s Vanessa Grimm will also want to build on her Hypomeeting performance, having scored 6307, just off her PB of 6323 from 2022.

Global medallists Lindon Victor and Emma Oosterwegel will be among the athletes looking to end their seasons on a high at the Decastar meeting

Past winners Victor and Oosterwegel seek end of season success in Talence

Germany&rsquo;s Felix Wolter and Poland&rsquo;s Adrianna Sulek-Schubert lived up to expectations as the pre-event favourites for the Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial as they claimed victories at the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting in the Polish town of Naklo nad Notecia on Sunday (1).
Wolter scored a meeting record of 8068 after being pushed all the way by Japan&rsquo;s Yuma Maruyama and Estonia&rsquo;s Risto Lillemets, both of whom also scored in excess of 8000 points.
Sulek-Schubert, meanwhile, retained her title from 2022 with 6007 to win comfortably from Ukraine&rsquo;s Yuliya Loban.
Wolter led from the outset, clocking 10.63 in the 100m and leaping 7.64m in the long jump, the best marks of the day for those disciplines. His opponents made a dent on his lead in the shot put as the German managed 13.49m while Zsombor Galpal topped the event with 15.09m.
A 1.94m leap in the high jump kept Wolter in the lead ahead of Czechia&rsquo;s Vilem Strasky and Maruyama, then he ended the first day with a 48.39 victory in the 400m to increase his lead to 120 points.
Wolter started the second day with a 14.52 run in the 110m hurdles, an event in which Lorenzo Naidon (14.12) and Maruyama (14.20) produced the fastest times.
Lithuania&rsquo;s Edgaras Benkunskas, the strongest thrower in the field, topped the discus with a PB of 49.89m, while Wolter managed 44.06m. Lillemets then climbed up the leader board into fifth after clearing 5.00m in the pole vault with Wolter &ndash; still the overall leader &ndash; vaulting 4.70m and Maruyama managing 4.80m.
Benkunskas, Lillemets and Maruyama all threw beyond 60 metres in the javelin to make a small dent on Wolter&rsquo;s lead. But his 56.43m throw kept him in pole position going into the 1500m.
Naidon was the fastest in the final discipline (4:31.99) and he was closely followed by Lillemets (4:32.24) and Maruyama (4:36.59) but Wolter did enough to hold on to his lead (4:43.61), ending with a score of 8068.
Maruyama scored 8021 for second place, just ahead of Lillemets (8012).
Like Wolter, Sulek-Schubert led the heptathlon from start to finish.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66d593e3c135065377afe554.JPG" alt="Adrianna Sulek-Schubert at the Czapiewski Memorial" />
Adrianna Sulek-Schubert at the Czapiewski Memorial (&copy; Organisers)
</div>
The European indoor silver medallist opened with a 13.44 victory in the 100m hurdles and then cleared 1.77m, the best of the day, in the high jump.
Yuliya Loban produced the best throw in the shot put, 14.86m, but Sulek-Schubert&rsquo;s 13.75m kept the Pole in the lead. Sulek-Schubert then increased her leading margin to 166 points at the end of the first day thanks to a 24.28 victory in the 200m.
Sulek-Schubert and Loban produced the exact same mark in the long jump, 5.79m, then the Ukrainian out-threw Sulek-Schubert in the javelin by almost five metres, 42.22m to 37.81m, but it wasn&rsquo;t enough to displace the leader.
A 2:16.95 run in the 800m sealed the victory for Sulek-Schubert, giving her a winning score of 6007. Loban was second with 5861.

Germany’s Felix Wolter and Poland’s Adrianna Sulek-Schubert lived up to expectations as the pre-event favourites for the Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial

Wolter and Sulek-Schubert win in Naklo nad Notecia

European indoor silver medallist Adrianna Sulek-Schubert and Germany&rsquo;s Felix Wolter lead the entries for the Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial &ndash; a World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting &ndash; in the Polish town of Naklo nad Notecia this weekend (31 August &ndash; 1 September).
Sulek-Schubert, who was formerly coached by Czapiewski, won the inaugural edition of this meeting in 2022 with 6290 &ndash; which remains the meeting record &ndash; and then went on to finish fourth at the World Championships that year in a Polish record of 6672.
At the start of 2023 she finished second at the European Indoor Championships with 5014 &ndash; a mark that exceeded the previous world indoor record, but was bettered on the day by gold medallist Nafi Thiam&rsquo;s 5055 world record.
Sulek-Schubert cut her 2023 season short when she discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth in February 2024 and returned to competition just four months later, scoring 6033 in her first heptathlon since childbirth. She went on to place 12th at the Olympic Games in Paris with a season&rsquo;s best of 6226.
The 25-year-old will now look to cap her season in winning ways and will start as the favourite in the heptathlon.
Two other women in the field &ndash; Ukraine&rsquo;s Yuliya Loban and Poland&rsquo;s Edyta Bielska &ndash; have PBs in excess of 6000 points, while a third, Hungary&rsquo;s Szabina Szucs, is just four points shy of that mark.
Loban, the World University Games silver medallist, finished sixth at the World Indoor Championships earlier this year, but is yet to complete an outdoor heptathlon this year. Szucs, the 2021 world U20 bronze medallist, started her outdoor campaign with a PB of 5996 and she would dearly love to end the season as a member of the 6000-point club.
Seven men with PBs in excess of 8000 points will line up for the decathlon in Naklo nad Notecia this weekend.
Felix Wolter, who finished second in Ratingen in June with a season&rsquo;s best of 8226, is the leading entrant. The German set his PB of 8299 last year, and he&rsquo;ll have one eye on the meeting record of 8041.
But so too will the likes of Lithuania&rsquo;s Edgaras Benkunskas and Czechia&rsquo;s Vilem Strasky, both of whom have bettered 8000 this season.
Estonian duo Risto Lillemets and Taavi Tsernjavski should also put up a good fight, as should Hungary&rsquo;s Zsombor Galpal, Poland&rsquo;s Pawel Wiesiolek and Italy&rsquo;s Lorenzo Naidon.

Adrianna Sulek-Schubert and Felix Wolter lead the entries for the Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial

Sulek-Schubert and Wolter aim to end season on a high in Naklo nad Notecia

Till Steinforth and Sandrina Sprengel achieved personal best performances to complete a German double at the Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting, the final World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold event ahead of the Paris Olympics, this weekend (22-23).
Steinforth&rsquo;s score to win the decathlon was 8287, 61 points ahead of his compatriot Felix Wolter. Czechia&rsquo;s Vilem Strasky placed third on 7986.
Sprengel scored 6260 points to win the heptathlon by 16 points ahead of Ireland&rsquo;s Kate O'Connor, with Australia&rsquo;s Tori West only another nine points back in third place.
Steinforth threatened the meeting record in the very first event, improving his 100m PB from 10.69 to 10.41 (1.4m/s). Sven Jansons matched his PB of 10.56 to finish second, while his Dutch compatriot Rik Taam was third with 10.59, a PB by 0.03. Wolter was fourth with 10.65 and Strasky fifth with 10.72.
Steinforth would maintain his lead for the next six events, only dropping to second place after the pole vault and regaining top spot after the javelin. He and Wolter occupied the top two spots throughout.
They went one-two in the long jump, Steinforth leaping 7.59m (1.0m/s) and Wolter 7.55m (0.7m/s) and they were separated by 66 points at that stage.
Estonia&rsquo;s world fourth-place finisher Karel Tilga, who decided to test himself in a few disciplines in Ratingen, only took one attempt &ndash; a foul &ndash; in the long jump, but he led the shot put with a PB throw of 16.59m, surpassing 16 metres in each of the three rounds and finishing just four centimetres off the meeting record. Niels Pittomvils was next best on 15.25m, while Tim Nowak threw 14.87m. US-based Steinforth was below his best of 14.33m but he remained in the overall lead with a throw of 13.48m.
Nowak topped the high jump thanks to a 2.01m clearance, while Steinforth, Wolter, Strasky and Fred Isaac Fleurisson all made it over 1.98m.&nbsp;
The final event on day one was topped by Taam, on the hunt for a Paris place. He went quickest in the 400m, clocking 47.24 to finish just ahead of Steinforth in a PB of 47.38 &ndash; his first time under 48 seconds. Wolter was third in 47.72.
That left Steinforth in the lead overnight, the 22-year-old having 4374 points, 67 ahead of Wolter.
Day two started with the 110m hurdles, led by Fleurisson in 13.96 (0.2m/s) ahead of Strasky (14.04). Steinforth was just 0.01 off his PB in winning the second race in 14.12. That result maintained Steinforth&rsquo;s lead and after six events he was 123 points ahead of Wolter, who held on to second spot overall despite almost falling in the hurdles. Taam was in third and Strasky fourth.
There were PBs for Pittomvils and Wolter in the discus as they respectively threw 48.35m and 45.42m. Steinforth stayed ahead with a best of 42.18m, but Wolter&rsquo;s PB performance closed the gap to 57 points with three events to go. It was at this stage that Taam&rsquo;s winning hopes came to an end as he was unable to achieve a valid throw and Strasky moved into third place overall.
Steinforth lost the lead for the first time after the pole vault, as he cleared 4.70m to Wolter&rsquo;s PB-equalling 5.00m. Strasky managed 4.90m and between them they kept the top three spots, but with Wolter top on 6895 points, 34 ahead of Steinforth.
Steinforth launched himself back into the lead with another PB in the penultimate event, the javelin. His 59.53m was the second best of the competition, behind Leon Mak&rsquo;s 59.85m &ndash; a PB by almost three metres. Wolter had to settle for a best of 52.03m but still had a top two place and the compatriots were 78 points apart with just the 1500m to go.
Steinforth kept Wolter in his sights in that final event and raced to a more than five second PB of 4:37.73 to clinch the title with a lifetime best of 8287. Wolter ran 4:35.07 to secure second place with 8226, while Strasky &ndash; in his third decathlon in five weeks &ndash; closed his campaign with a 4:47.35 1500m to score a total of 7986 for third place. Pittomvils finished fourth on 7906 after a strong end to his series.
&ldquo;An increase of more than 200 points is of course great. I even had weaker disciplines like the shot put and the pole vault,&rdquo; Steinforth told the German athletics association.
&ldquo;I hope that my development continues like this, because in four years I want to be at the Olympic Games. That is my goal.&rdquo;
<h2>Strong series for Sprengel</h2>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/667869c84120f87b8c7952dc.jpg" alt="Sandrina Sprengel in Ratingen" />
Sandrina Sprengel in Ratingen (&copy; Fynn Zenker)
</div>
Sprengel, the European U20 champion and world U20 bronze medallist, also started her campaign in PB style, clocking 13.50 (0.5m/s) in the 100m hurdles. That was the fifth fastest time of the first event, led by Esther Conde-Turpin of France with a wind-assisted 13.25 (2.7m/s). Behind Conde-Turpin, China&rsquo;s Zheng Ninali ran 13.32 and Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world silver medallist Carolin Schafer ran 13.35. There was disappointment for Austria&rsquo;s Ivona Dadic who fell and did not finish.
Sprengel&rsquo;s aim for the season was to surpass 6200 points and she remained on track for that in Ratingen with a high jump clearance of 1.78m &ndash; down on her PB of 1.83m but enough to see her achieve the joint second-best height of the morning behind Jana Koscak&rsquo;s 1.81m.&nbsp;
Schafer, a two-time Ratingen winner, had started well in her most recent heptathlon at the European Championships in Rome but then she recorded three fouls in the shot put. She had more success this time in Ratingen, throwing 14.40m for the second-best throw of the day, three centimetres off the leading 14.43m by Germany&rsquo;s Vanessa Grimm, contesting her third heptathlon in five weeks. O'Connor was also among the five athletes to surpass 14 metres with 14.16m, while Sprengel set another PB with her 13.26m throw.
Schafer shot to the top spot after three events, 24 points ahead of the 20-year-old Sprengel.
Schafer held on to that lead to finish the first day as No.1 on 3736 points, clocking 24.17 (-1.8m/s) for the second quickest 200m of the day behind West&rsquo;s 24.14 (-1.3m/s). In that same heat, Sprengel clocked 24.21 to finish second behind West and ended day one in second place, 27 points behind Schafer. Zheng ran 24.73 and was in third place overnight, with West in fourth and O'Connor in seventh.
Things didn&rsquo;t go to plan for Schafer at the start of day two, as she managed a best of 5.66m in the long jump. Sprengel replaced her as leader after that event, jumping 6.27m &ndash; just 10cm off her PB and 8cm off the leading mark achieved by Lucie Kienast.
Sprengel set another PB in the penultimate event, throwing 46.03m to improve her previous best by more than a metre and maintain top spot overall. Her compatriot Marie Dehning threw farthest, improving her PB by almost three metres with 56.12m and breaking the meeting record. O'Connor threw 52.12m, West 51.74m and Schafer 48.31m, as the other three athletes to surpass 46 metres.&nbsp;
With only the 800m to go, Sprengel was 71 points ahead of West, with O'Connor another 10 points back. Schafer was in fourth place and Zheng in fifth, but they did not race the final event.
Running in the same race as O'Connor and West, Sprengel didn&rsquo;t let them get too far away and crossed the finish line in 2:19.25 to secure victory on her Ratingen debut with her PB of 6260 points. O'Connor was fastest overall and her 2:14.57 took her to a total of 6244 to secure second place ahead of West on 6235. Elisa Pineau of France finished fourth on 6000.
&ldquo;I am overjoyed because I never expected to win,&rdquo;&nbsp;said Sprengel. &ldquo;After the 100m hurdles I already felt that such a score was possible, because when the hurdles go well, the entire heptathlon usually goes well for me too.&rdquo;
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-combined-events-tour/calendar-results/7203853/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Till Steinforth and Sandrina Sprengel achieved personal best performances to complete a German double at the Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting

Steinforth and Sprengel achieve German double in Ratingen

As the final World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting ahead of the Paris 2024 Games, the Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting on 22-23 June will be an important stepping stone ahead of the Olympics.
Some of the leading contenders in Ratingen are already in a position to qualify for the Games, but several others are on the brink of qualification and so will be looking to boost their world ranking in the German city this weekend.
Karel Tilga leads the decathlon field. The Estonian hasn&rsquo;t competed since last year&rsquo;s World Championships in Budapest &ndash; where he finished fourth with a PB of 8681 &ndash; and achilles and knee injuries kept him out of this year&rsquo;s World Indoor Championships and the European Championships.
The 26-year-old already has the Olympic qualifying mark, so he won&rsquo;t have to worry about big scores this weekend in Ratingen. He will, however, be keen to put together a confidence-boosting series, having not competed for 10 months.
Three other athletes in the field &ndash; Spain&rsquo;s Jorge Urena, Australia&rsquo;s Daniel Golubovic and Rik Taam of the Netherlands &ndash; are currently in an Olympic qualifying position in the world rankings, but they&rsquo;ll need a strong performance this weekend to hold on to those places.
Urena, the 2019 European indoor champion, was second in Ratingen last year with a PB of 8381. The Spaniard has a best this year of 7505, set earlier this month in Arganda del Rey, but he&rsquo;ll be hoping for a mark nearer to &ndash; or even in excess of &ndash; 8000 points in Ratingen.
Taam finished one place behind Urena in Ratingen last year, also setting a PB (8326). The Dutch all-rounder went on to finish 13th at the World Championships in Budapest, but he hasn&rsquo;t completed a combined events competition since then. As the athlete currently in the 24th and final qualifying spot for the Olympics, he&rsquo;ll be highly motivated going into this weekend.
Golubovic is sandwiched between Urena and Taam in the road to Paris qualifying rankings. The Commonwealth and Oceanian silver medallist will be competing in Ratingen for the first time in what he hopes will be a key performance towards securing selection for his first Olympics.
Two German men &ndash; world leader Leo Neugebauer and 2019 world champion Niklas Kaul &ndash; already have the Olympic qualifying standard, while a third, Manuel Eitel, is ranked within the qualifying quota. None of these will be competing in Ratingen, but a few other German decathletes will be in action in a bid to move ahead of Eitel in the rankings.
Tim Nowak, runner-up in Ratingen two years ago, set a PB of 8282 in G&ouml;tzis last month, then went on to finish ninth at the European Championships with 8150. Ratingen will mark his third decathlon within five weeks, but a solid performance certainly won&rsquo;t harm his world rankings points.
Kai Kazmirek, the 2017 world bronze medallist, was a non-finisher in Arona last month. The two-time Ratingen winner last completed a decathlon in July last year, winning in Bydgoszcz with 8038, but his PB (8580) is the second-best of the field, behind Tilga.
Germany&rsquo;s Felix Wolter set his PB of 8299 when winning in Marburg last year, and he came close to it in G&ouml;tzis five weeks ago with 8190. He&rsquo;ll be aiming to match or improve on his fifth-place finish in Ratingen last year.
Czech decathlete Vilem Strasky is another who&rsquo;s within sniffing distance of an Olympic qualifying spot, while the likes of Ondrej Kopecky, Australia&rsquo;s Cedric Dubler and Poland&rsquo;s Pawel Wiesiolek will also be looking to pull out something special ahead of the Games.
Two-time Ratingen winner Carolin Schafer will start as the favourite for the heptathlon. The 2017 world silver medallist has been in solid form this year and got off to a promising start at the recent European Championships before recording three fouls in the shot put.
If she&rsquo;s able to hold her nerve this weekend, she could notch up yet another Ratingen victory, becoming just the fourth woman to win three or more times in the German city. But she&rsquo;ll face strong competition from the likes of compatriot Vanessa Grimm, Austria&rsquo;s Verena Mayr and China&rsquo;s Zheng Ninali.
Grimm came within 16 points of her PB to finish fifth in G&ouml;tzis last month with 6307. She is currently within the qualifying quota for Paris, but only just as she&rsquo;s in 23rd place &ndash; one place behind Mayr and one place ahead of Zheng.
Mayr won in Ratingen in 2019 with a national record of 6591 then went on to claim bronze at the World Championships later that year. More recently she was eighth in G&ouml;tzis with 6196 but then, like Schafer, did not finish at the European Championships.
Zheng, the Asian Games champion, currently sits in the 24th and final qualifying spot for Paris. Earlier this year she scored 6164 in California, so she&rsquo;ll be keen to improve on that to climb into a safer position in the world rankings.
Several other women heading to Ratingen are just outside of the top 24 qualifying positions.
Australia&rsquo;s Tori West set a PB of 6245 to finish sixth in G&ouml;tzis and is now just two places behind Zheng on the road to Paris list. Ireland&rsquo;s Kate O&rsquo;Connor and Ukraine&rsquo;s Yuliya Loban are close behind West, while Sarah Lagger and teenager Jana Koscak are also in the top 32.
The likes of French duo Esther Conde-Turpin and Celia Perron will also be highly motivated, with a home Games on the horizon, so too will Austria&rsquo;s Ivona Dadic, a two-time runner-up in Ratingen.

Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkamp-Meeting

As the final World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting ahead of the Paris 2024 Games, the Stadtwerke Ratingen Mehrkampf-Meeting will be an important stepping stone

Combined eventers prepared for Pre-Paris test in Ratingen

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 G&ouml;tzis 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.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6648e8de233fcf847f7518e3.jpg" alt="Decathlon leader Simon Ehammer in G&ouml;tzis" />
Decathlon leader Simon Ehammer in G&ouml;tzis (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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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&rsquo;s Edgaras Benkunskas had the best mark in the shot put &ndash; a 15.91m PB &ndash; 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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s Tim Nowak set a PB of 8282 in sixth.
<h2>Vetter gets the better of Kalin</h2>
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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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 &ndash; 1.80m, just 1cm off her PB. That height was also managed by Switzerland&rsquo;s Mathilde Rey &ndash; 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&rsquo;s Annie Kunz also excelled, throwing 15.14m, but Atherley&rsquo;s PB of 13.67m was enough to keep her in the top spot.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/664a17b90f09c6aec84eece1.jpg" alt="Anouk Vetter at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis" />
Anouk Vetter at the Hypo Meeting in Gotzis (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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Germany&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s best of 2:08.55, giving her an overall score of 6465, a personal best, but ultimately it wasn&rsquo;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 &ndash; the fourth-best mark of her career &ndash; while Kalin clocked 2:16.63 to end with a season&rsquo;s best of 6506. Behind the podium finishers, Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands placed fourth (6337) and Germany&rsquo;s Vanessa Grimm was fifth (6307).
<h3>Leading results</h3>
Women&rsquo;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&rsquo;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
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7199540?eventId=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a>

Damian Warner extended his historic Hypo Meeting winning tally by taking his eighth decathlon victory, while Anouk Vetter regained her heptathlon title 

Warner wins for eighth time in Götzis, Vetter scores world-leading 6642

Olympic champion Damian Warner, Olympic silver medallist Anouk Vetter and their fellow global medallists Ashley Moloney, Emma Oosterwegel and Lindon Victor form part of the formidable fields set for the Hypomeeting in G&ouml;tzis, this season&rsquo;s third World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting, this weekend (18-19).
The world-class event will be a key step for many on the road to Rome and path to Paris, with athletes preparing for the European Championships in Italy and the Olympic Games in the French capital.
Warner continues to work towards his Olympic title defence by returning to compete at the M&ouml;sle-Stadium for the 11th time, as a seven-time Hypomeeting decathlon winner.
After six successive victories, the Canadian 34-year-old finished runner-up to his compatriot Pierce LePage last year and that top two was repeated at the World Championships in Budapest three months later as LePage took the title ahead of Warner and Grenada&rsquo;s Lindon Victor.
Now Warner is back in G&ouml;tzis as a four-time world medallist and he&rsquo;ll renew his rivalry with Victor, who is also in the line-up.
Victor has had one 400m outing so far this year, while Warner&rsquo;s performances at the Bryan Clay Invitational last month included a 13.65 110m hurdles, 15.15m shot put and 4.80m pole vault.
Moloney, meanwhile, has already completed a decathlon this year and he goes on the hunt for a performance that will secure him a place for Paris. The 24-year-old, who set his Oceanian record of 8649 to win his Olympic bronze in Tokyo, competed in G&ouml;tzis last year but withdrew before the 1500m, while his campaign at the World Championships in Budapest also came to an early end. He finished 13th with 8038 on his debut in G&ouml;tzis in 2019, receiving the 'rookie of the meeting' award.
Two other athletes on the entry list have also surpassed 8400 points in their careers so far: Switzerland&rsquo;s Simon Ehammer and Estonia&rsquo;s Johannes Erm. After deciding to focus on the long jump in Budapest, where he finished ninth, Ehammer rebounded to win the Diamond League title in the individual discipline at the end of the season. He returned to global combined events action at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March, where he won the heptathlon with a national record score of 6418.
Erm was also in PB form in Glasgow and his 6340 points earned him world indoor bronze.
In G&ouml;tzis they will be joined by Erm&rsquo;s compatriot Risto Lillemets, the European indoor bronze medallist who was second at the Multistars last month, plus Brazil&rsquo;s South American champion Jose Fernando Ferreira Santana, USA&rsquo;s Devon Williams and Germany&rsquo;s Tim Nowak.
<h2>Can Vetter regain heptathlon crown?</h2>
After winning the Hypomeeting heptathlon title for the first time in 2022, Vetter withdrew during her title defence last year as a precaution due to achilles discomfort.
She was back in medal-winning form in Budapest as she bagged bronze to go with the world silver and bronze medals she had already claimed in Oregon and London, respectively, as well as her Olympic silver from Tokyo.
In G&ouml;tzis two years ago, Vetter became the first Dutch heptathlon winner in the event&rsquo;s history with a then national record score of 6693. She improved again less than two months later, scoring 6867 to secure her world silver in Oregon.
She&rsquo;s not the only Olympic medallist in action, however, as she faces her compatriot Oosterwegel, who claimed bronze in Tokyo and then finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest. Her PB is the 6590 she set in Tokyo.
USA&rsquo;s Taliyah Brooks recently matched her PB of 6330 to retain her Multistars title and four weeks on she is back in action. She&rsquo;ll be joined by her compatriots Erica Bougard and Annie Kunz, who have both surpassed 6500 in their careers so far, plus Michelle Atherley and Allie Jones.
Switzerland&rsquo;s Annik Kalin and Austria&rsquo;s Ivona Dadic and Verena Mayr also have 6500-plus PBs and add further strength to the field as they target performances that will put them in the running for Paris. Like Brooks, 2018 world indoor pentathlon silver medallist Dadic also contests her second heptathlon in a month. Continuing her comeback after injury, she competed at the Multistars but withdrew before the 800m. The 2019 world bronze medallist Mayr finished fifth in the pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships in March, while Kalin &ndash; the world indoor long jump fifth-place finisher in Glasgow &ndash; is back in multi events action after finishing runner-up at Decastar in September.
Also competing on home soil is Sarah Lagger, while others looking to make an impact will be Germany&rsquo;s Sophie Weissenberg and Vanessa Grimm, and Great Britain&rsquo;s Holly Mills.

Olympic champion Damian Warner, Olympic silver medallist Anouk Vetter and their fellow global medallists Ashley Moloney, Emma Oosterwegel and Lindon Victor form part of the formidable fields set for the Hypomeeting

Global medallists head strong fields for Götzis

France&rsquo;s Elisa Pineau (6020) and Germany&rsquo;s Malik Diakite (8037) were the winners at the International Meeting of Arona &ndash; the second Gold leg of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour &ndash; on the Canary Islands this weekend (11-12). Both multi-eventers only took the lead after the final events and missed their respective lifetime bests by a narrow margin.
<h2>Vidts shines on day one</h2>
Taking advantage of an ideal 1.9m/s tailwaind, the two-time world indoor champion Noor Vidts opened the heptathlon with a 13.31 100m hurdles, her fourth ever quickest time. Even so, she couldn&rsquo;t top the event, that feat going to Norway&rsquo;s Ida Eikeng who lowered her career best by 0.03 thanks to a 13.23 performance. Spain&rsquo;s Sofia Cosculluela and Britain&rsquo;s Jodie Smith also set respective lifetime bests of 13.42 and 13.43.&nbsp;
After the high jump, Vidts moved to the top after equalling her PB of 1.84m at the first time of asking, while the 22-year-old Smith improved her career best by clearing 1.81m on her third attempt. Overall, Vidts finished the morning session at the helm with a 2107 tally to Smith&rsquo;s 2051, while Eikeng was a distant third on 1969 points.&nbsp;
The 27-year-old Belgian athlete extended her lead in the shot put, despite not reaching the 14-metre barrier with a furthest throw of 13.85m in round three in a contest won by Switzerland&rsquo;s Caroline Agnou thanks to a 14.38m performance, while Eikeng overtook Smith in the fight for second place overall &ndash; 13.75m and 12.37m their respective marks. The Norwegian was some nine points ahead of the Briton but 145 behind the leading 2891 points of Vidts.&nbsp;
In Saturday&rsquo;s closing event, Eikeng got the better of the two-time world indoor champion to grab the 200m win in 24.26 (-0.9m/s) to Vidts&rsquo; 24.54, but the latter was a clear overnight leader with a 3820 tally to Eikeng&rsquo;s 3702 and Smith&rsquo;s 3641.&nbsp;
By then, Pineau was only sixth with 3560 points after performances of 13.94 (100m hurdles), 1.72m (high jump), 14.19m (shot put) and 25.00 (200m).
At the beginning of day two, Belgium&rsquo;s Sennah Vanhoeijen produced a fine 6.18m second-attempt leap in the long jump to grab the win ahead of Pineau&rsquo;s 6.15m, although the big news came when Vidts did not begin the contest. Vidts confirmed that it was just a matter of season planning, as she had already intended not to compete on Sunday.&nbsp;
In her absence, Eikeng (5.94m in the long jump) moved into pole position with 4521 points and a 65-point gap ahead of Pineau, while Smith placed third another 80 points behind.&nbsp;
The Norwegian extended her lead after the javelin, an event taken by Agnou (50.29m), thanks to a 47.43m throw for third compared to Pineau&rsquo;s 44.71m. With just the 800m left, Eikeng led by 117 points (5331/5214) with Ireland&rsquo;s Kate O&rsquo;Connor in third (5145). The final 800m was dominated by the Swiss athletes &ndash; the win going to Katelyn Adel (2:14.79) ahead of Lydia Boll (2:15.90).&nbsp;
In the fight for the heptathlon victory, Pineau took advantage of Eikeng&rsquo;s 2:40.90 performance to overtake her after her 2:21.27 clocking for sixth.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so happy because honestly, I didn&rsquo;t expect to win this weekend,&rdquo; said Pineau. &ldquo;My first day was quite weak and today was just OK. I was just seven points off my PB, so I&rsquo;m satisfied.&rdquo;
<h2>Exciting Tesselaar-Kopecky clash, but Diakite finally prevails</h2>
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66439698f21be11f3aaba34e.jpg" alt="Malik Diakite and Jeff Tesselaar in Arona" />
Malik Diakite and Jeff Tesselaar in Arona (&copy; Organisers)
</div>
The men&rsquo;s opening 100m witnessed the win of Spain&rsquo;s 20-year-old Tayb David Loum in 10.72. He was followed by his compatriot Pol Ferrer (10.78), with Jeff Tesselaar of the Netherlands placing third in 10.90.
The leading favourites for the overall win struggled at this event, with Ondrej Kopecky of Czechia being timed at 11.10, Germany&rsquo;s Kai Kazmirek clocking 11.37 and Sweden&rsquo;s Marcus Nilsson running 11.51.&nbsp;
The long jump was dominated by Tesselaar as the Dutch athlete produced a massive effort of 7.88m, helped by a 2.4m/s following wind in his last attempt after fouling the first two jumps to move to the front after two events. He had 2643 points to Ferrer&rsquo;s 2560 - the 21-year-old Spaniard being second in the long jump thanks to a 7.55m effort.&nbsp;
Top in the shot put went to Spain&rsquo;s Jose San Pastor thanks to a 15.69m first-round toss, while Tesselaar exceeded the 14-metre mark for the first time in his career (14.03m for sixth), which proved to be enough to maintain his top spot.
The high jump didn&rsquo;t bring fireworks, Britain&rsquo;s Lewis Church being the only multi-eventer reaching the 2.00m barrier, while the 2017 world bronze medallist Kazmirek decided not to take part after feeling some discomfort over the first two events. A 1.97m second-time clearance by Tesselaar strengthened his lead to 136 points over Ferrer (3419/3283) while Kopecky (1.94m) became a threatening third, just 36 points behind the Spaniard.&nbsp;
The final 400m of day one went to Loum after a brisk career best of 47.33, while Tesselaar clocked 48.16 for third. The one-lap event produced notable casualties as the 2022 winner Nilsson did not start, while an injured Ferrer crossed the finish line jogging.&nbsp;
At the end of the Saturday session, the European U23 Championships ninth-place finisher Tesselaar led with 4320 points and a 216 advantage on Kopecky, himself 14 points clear of Loum, while the eventual winner Diakite placed fifth with 4049 points thanks to performances of 11.09 (100m), 7.42m (long jump), 14.12m (shot put), 1.88m (high jump) and 49.00 (400m).
After day one, everything seemed ready for a fierce battle between the Dutch and the Czech decathletes. Kopecky is coached by the former world record-holder Roman Sebrle, who declared after day one: &ldquo;His second day is better than the first one, so I&rsquo;m confident Ondrej can reach 8200 points or so.&rdquo;
The 110m hurdles narrowed Tesselaar&rsquo;s margin as Kopecky clocked 14.48 for third, while the overnight leader finished fourth in 14.65 to lose 21 points from his advantage. The event was taken by Venezuela&rsquo;s Gerson Izaguirre, 14.05 (0.6m/s) his winning time.&nbsp;
Kopecky kept his chase on Tesselaar in the discus by winning with a 45.13m second-round effort, head and shoulders above the 21-year-old Dutch athlete who could not go beyond ninth with 38.33m, 5843 and 5787 being their respective scorings after seven events with Izaguirre third (5686).&nbsp;
The pole vault was bittersweet for Kopecky as he took the overall lead &ndash; 6606 to 6603 &ndash; with a 4.70m clearance, but he injured his achilles tendon on his first attempt over 4.90m. Tessalaar equalled his career best outdoors of 4.50m and seemed to be the favourite for the overall win, but while the 21-year-old improved his javelin PB to 50.55m he lost the top spot to Diakite who unleashed a 61.58m effort to overtake the German by four points before the final 1500m.&nbsp;
The 1500m became a thriller as Tesselaar got a swift start to reach the 400m (1:07.12) and 800m (2:18.23) marks 40m ahead of the German, but the latter found another gear to cover the closing lap in a brisk 1:02 to romp home virtually even with Tesselaar (4:16.54 and 4:16:86, both lifetime bests) to finally succeed by just two points.
Diakite scored 8037 points to Tesselaar&rsquo;s 8035, the winner improving his PB by 282 points.
The 24-year-old victor commented: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m super tired as it has been two tough days, but it&rsquo;s worth it as I have won and exceed the 8000m barrier for the second time in my career (8051 PB). I&rsquo;ll next compete in Ratingen at the end of June.&rdquo;
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

France’s Elisa Pineau (6020) and Germany’s Malik Diakite (8037) were the winners at the International Meeting of Arona – the second Gold leg of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour

Pineau and Diakite take the spoils in Arona

Two-time world indoor champion Noor Vidts will be the marquee athlete at the International Meeting of Arona &ndash; the second Gold leg of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour &ndash; on the Canary Islands this weekend (11-12).
Vidts, who retained her world indoor title earlier this year in Glasgow, will start as the overwhelming favourite in the heptathlon. The 27-year-old Belgian has finished in the top six at the past three global championships, starting with the Olympic Games in 2021 where she finished fourth with a PB of 6571.
She came close to that at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, placing fifth with 6559, and she followed that with a sixth-place finish at last year&rsquo;s World Championships in Budapest with 6450.
Vidts has competed in Arona on seven previous occasions. She won the U20 contest in 2014 and 2015 but is yet to win the main senior event.
Marijke Esselink of the Netherlands should be Vidts&rsquo; toughest challenger. The 24-year-old will be making her third appearance in Arona, having finished third in 2021 with a PB of 6087, which she improved to 6222 last year in G&ouml;tzis.
Ireland&rsquo;s Kate O&rsquo;Connor will also be in the mix for a podium place. The 2019 European U20 silver medallist, who holds the national record at 6297, finished second at the opening World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting in Brescia two weeks ago with 6104.
Watch out too for USA&rsquo;s Ashtin Zamzow-Mahler, who will be contesting her first heptathlon in almost two years. The 27-year-old finished 11th at the 2022 World Championships and has a 6291 PB from 2021. She&rsquo;ll be joined by compatriot Shaina Burns, a 6130-point heptathlete aiming to improve on her 14th-place finish in Brescia.
Ondrej Kopecky appears to be the pre-event favourite in the decathlon. The 25-year-old from the Czech Republic has a PB of 8310 from 2022, and more recently he finished ninth at the World Indoor Championships, having set an indoor PB of 6035 in the heptathlon in February.
A solid all-rounder, Kopecky excels in the vertical jumps and has PBs of 2.01m for the high jump and 5.20m in the pole vault.
Marcus Nilsson, winner in Arona in 2022 with a score of 8115, returns to the Canary Islands. The 32-year-old Swede enjoyed a fantastic campaign that year, placing fourth at the European Championships with a huge PB of 8327.
Because of injuries, Nilsson hasn&rsquo;t completed a decathlon since September 2022, but an indoor heptathlon score of 5706 earlier this year shows the 2010 world U20 bronze medallist is returning to good form.
Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world bronze medallist Kai Kazmirek, one of the most consistent decathletes over the past decade, will also be in Arona. The 33-year-old only completed one decathlon last year, scoring 8038, and will be contesting his first combined events competition of the year this weekend.
He will be joined by his fellow German Malik Diakite, who surpassed the 8000-point barrier last year with a PB of 8051.
Local hopes rest on defending champion Andreu Boix. The 21-year-old Spaniard produced a lifetime best of 7961 in Arona last year when he set PBs in six of the 10 disciplines.
Mild temperatures &ndash; with a high of 25C&nbsp;&ndash; are expected throughout a sunny weekend in Arona.
Emeterio Valiente for World Athletics

Two-time world indoor champion Noor Vidts will be the marquee athlete at the International Meeting of Arona

Vidts kicks off outdoor season in Arona

USA&rsquo;s Taliyah Brooks retained her Multistars heptathlon title by equalling her PB of 6330, while Belgium&rsquo;s Jente Hauttekeete secured his first decathlon victory at a World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting, winning with 8020 in Brescia on Sunday (28).
Brooks began the defence of her heptathlon title with the day&rsquo;s fastest 100m hurdles, clocking 13.14 into a headwind (-2.3m/s). But there was disappointment for China&rsquo;s Asian Games champion Zheng Ninali, as she was disqualified.
The high jump was up next and Brooks cleared 1.77m &ndash; the second-best performance of the day behind Bianca Salming&rsquo;s 1.83m &ndash; before throwing 13.11m in the shot. Austria&rsquo;s 2018 world indoor pentathlon silver medallist Ivona Dadic, returning from injury, launched the implement 14.55m to top that event.
Brooks ended day one with a leading 200m time of 23.92, putting her 220 points ahead of Norway&rsquo;s Ida Eikeng.
The second day started well for Brooks as she extended her lead by topping the long jump with 6.52m. It was also a strong discipline for Sweden&rsquo;s Lovisa Karlsson (6.47m) and Switzerland&rsquo;s Katelyn Adel (6.41m), both of whom set PBs to move into second and third overall respectively.
Eikeng excelled in the javelin, launching her spear out to 51.62m to move up to third overall. Ireland&rsquo;s Kate O&rsquo;Connor, twice a runner-up at Multistars, moved into second place overall thanks to her 49.28m effort.
Brooks was further down the field with 38.53m, but she still ended the event with a lead of almost 200 points with just the 800m to go.
Adel, who had put together the series of her life this weekend, continued her momentum into the 800m, smashing her PB to win it in 2:12.66. Salming followed in 2:13.49 and Brooks &ndash; buoyed by the knowledge she had the title in the bag &ndash; was close behind in 2:13.81, a PB.
It meant that the US heptathlete successfully defended her title by equalling the 6330 PB she set when winning at Multistars last year.
O&rsquo;Connor, who clocked 2:15.14 in the final event, achieved her third Multistars runner-up finish with 6104 and Adel placed third with 6082 &ndash; a PB by more than 300 points. Karlsson just missed the podium, but was also rewarded with her first 6000-point tally, scoring 6051.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m excited to come here, get a decent score and walk away healthy,&rdquo; said Brooks. &ldquo;I got the exact same score as last time. Last year I was really happy with my 800m, and this year is the same &ndash; I set a PB by two seconds. It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;ve been working really hard on.&rdquo;
<h2>Hauttekeete times challenge to perfection</h2>
Jente Hauttekeete may not have topped the leader board in any of the individual disciplines, but the 22-year-old&rsquo;s overall consistency in the decathlon led to him taking the title with 8020, the second-best score of his career.
Switzerland&rsquo;s Nino Portmann took an early lead, winning the first 100m heat in 10.91. Belgium&rsquo;s Robin Bodart won his heat in 10.93 for the day&rsquo;s second-fastest time and Teo Bastien led heat three in 11.04 to put him fifth overall after one event, just ahead of Hattekeete (11.06).
Bastien, the 2021 European U20 bronze medallist, soared into the lead after the next event, going close to his long jump PB with a leap of 7.82m. Hauttekeete, the world U20 heptathlon record-holder, was sixth at that stage after leaping 7.37m.
A 14.12m throw moved Hauttekeete up to fourth following the shot put, with Bastien holding on to the lead thanks to an outdoor PB of 13.84m. Czechia&rsquo;s 2016 European silver medallist Adam Helcelet made his presence felt at this stage, launching the shot 15.31m to place him fifth overall, with Yuma Maruyama and Jose Fernando Ferreira Santana completing the top five.
Hauttekeete and Santiago Ford both soared clear at 2.01m in the high jump, which moved them to second and third respectively behind Bastien (1.95m). His lead was 45 points at that stage but Hauttekeete ran 49.16 to Bastien&rsquo;s 50.10 in the 400m &ndash; the final event of the day &ndash; to take the gap to just a single point at the half way stage.
Ferreira Santana dominated the 110m hurdles at the start of day two and was the only man to finish inside 14 seconds, clocking 13.88. Hauttekeete took a brief lead thanks to his 14.44 clocking, while Bastien managed 14.51, but the French all-rounder responded in the next event, throwing a discus PB of 43.49m to regain the lead.
Hauttekeete threw 40.13m, and Chile&rsquo;s Santiago Ford moved up the leaderboard into third after sending his disc flying out to 47.84m, the best of the day. Murayama, meanwhile, set his third PB of the competition with 46.21m.
Belgium&rsquo;s Thomas van der Plaetsen, the 2016 European champion, was a non-starter for the next discipline. But his compatriot Bodart ensured a Belgian still topped that event, vaulting 5.15m. Bastien was next best, extending his lead thanks to a 5.05m clearance, while Hauttekeete remained in contention with 4.85m.
The discipline ended with disappointment for Murayama, though, as he landed awkwardly on his final attempt at 4.65m and was forced to exit the competition.
Hauttekeete threw a PB of 56.04m in the javelin, but he was bumped down to third place after Ferreira Santana launched his spear out to 67.47m. Bastien increased the gap between him and Hauttekeete, throwing 56.98m.
Bastien had a 138-point lead over Hauttekeete going into the 1500m. Although the Belgian was a far superior 1500m runner, he still needed to finish 25 seconds ahead of Bastien to secure the victory.
Switzerland&rsquo;s Andrin Huber was a comfortable winner of the 1500m, clocking 4:23.99, then Estonia&rsquo;s Risto Lillemets crossed the line a few seconds later, closely followed by Hauttekeete (4:30.80). Bastien, meanwhile, finished outside five minutes (5:02.75).
It meant that Hauttekeete took the victory with 8020 from Lillemets (7971). Bastien held on for third place with 7963, just 26 points ahead of Ferreira Santana.
&ldquo;I just kept going and fought until the end and now I&rsquo;m here in first position,&rdquo; said Hauttekeete. &ldquo;I knew I needed to finish 25 seconds ahead of Bastien and I knew that would be tough. But it&rsquo;s never over until the end.&rdquo;
<a href="https://multistars.it/Multistars_2024/index_2024.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a>

Brooks takes heptathlon with 6330, Hauttekeete wins decathlon with 8020

Brooks and Hauttekeete victorious at Multistars

Taliyah Brooks defends her heptathlon title, while Thomas Van der Plaetsen heads the decathlon field at Multistars &ndash; the first World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold event of 2024 &ndash; this weekend (27-28).
Nine decathletes with 8000-point-plus PBs and nine heptathletes who have surpassed 6200 points are entered for the event, which returns to Brescia &ndash; host of the first seven editions from 1988 to 1994 &ndash; for the first time in 30 years.
USA&rsquo;s Brooks set a PB of 6330 points to win the heptathlon in Desenzano del Garda last year and she went on to finish second at the USA Championships with a score just 11 points off that mark, but her campaign at the World Championships in Budapest came to an early end when she recorded three fouls in the long jump. She rebounded at the Decastar in Talence in September, finishing third on 6181, and has already shown PB form in 2024 as she clocked 7.97 for 60m hurdles in February.
One athlete sits above Brooks on the entry list when it comes to personal bests: Austria&rsquo;s Ivona Dadic. The 2018 world indoor pentathlon silver medallist, who set her best of 6552 in 2018, makes a heptathlon comeback in Brescia as she missed the whole of 2023 following knee surgery.&nbsp;
Dadic returned to action at the Swedish Indoor Combined Events Championships in January &ndash; her first competition since winning the Decastar with 6233 points in September 2022 &ndash; and finished second at the Austrian Indoor Combined Events Championships in February. Her aim in Brescia &ndash; as it is for a number of athletes in action &ndash; will be to qualify for the Olympic Games and European Championships.
China&rsquo;s Asian Games champion Zheng Ninali, who won the pentathlon at the Asian Indoor Championships in February, is also among the entries, just over a week on from her 6164-point performance at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Britain&rsquo;s Commonwealth bronze medallist Jade O&rsquo;Dowda was second at Multistars last year and went on to set a PB of 6255 points at the Gotzis Hypomeeting a month later.
Ireland&rsquo;s Kate O'Connor is also among the entries, as she prepares for her first competition since finishing 13th at the World Championships in Budapest.
Italy&rsquo;s world indoor fourth-place finisher Sveva Gerevini is entered but may not compete due to a hamstring problem.
Making the step up to the senior event is Hungary&rsquo;s 17-year-old Sarolta Kriszt, the 2022 European U18 silver medallist.
For Belgium&rsquo;s Van der Plaetsen, Brescia offers a first decathlon since the Decastar, where he placed sixth, and the chance to make a mark ahead of this year's major competitions.
The 2014 world indoor heptathlon bronze medallist competed in Desenzano del Garda last year but withdrew with a niggle. He then finished fourth in Ratingen before securing sixth in Talence. His PB of 8430 was set in Gotzis in 2021.
His competition this time includes Czechia&rsquo;s Adam Helcelet and Poland&rsquo;s Pawel Wiesiolek, both of whom have also surpassed 8300 in their careers so far. More recently, Helcelet scored 8034 to finish second at the Wieslaw Czapiewski Memorial in Bydgoszcz in July, while Wiesiolek won the Polish indoor heptathlon title in February.
They will go up against Italian record-holder Dario Dester, who achieved that 8218-point record at the European Championships in Munich in 2022. The Multistars will be his first decathlon since then.
Also looking to make an impact will be Estonia&rsquo;s European indoor heptathlon bronze medallist Risto Lillemets, Brazil&rsquo;s South American champion Jose Fernando Ferreira Santana and Belgium&rsquo;s Jente Hauttekeete, the world U20 heptathlon record-holder.
Lillemets was fifth at Decastar in September, while Ferreira Santana set his PB of 8058 last July.
Hauttekeete had a busy start to the year and he won the national indoor heptathlon title with 6131 in February before finishing eighth at the World Indoor Championships.
Like Kriszt, 19-year-old European U20 bronze medallist Andrin Huber steps up to senior competition in&nbsp;Brescia.

Taliyah Brooks defends her heptathlon title, while Thomas Van der Plaetsen heads the decathlon field at Multistars

Calendar
Date	Meeting	Venue	Country
25–26 JAN 2025	X-ATHLETICS	Stadium Jean-Pellez, Aubiére	FRA
01–02 FEB 2025	Tallinn 2025	Tallinna Kergejõustikuhall, Tallinn	EST
16 FEB 2025	Combined Events Copernicus Cup	Arena, Toruń	POL
22–23 FEB 2025	USA Indoor Championships	Ocean Breeze Athl. Complex, New York, NY	USA
16–19 APR 2025	Mt. SAC Relays	Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Walnut, CA	USA
26–27 APR 2025	38th Multistars	Centro Gabre Gabric, Brescia	ITA
31 MAY–01 JUN 2025	Hypomeeting	Mösle-Stadium, Götzis	AUT
21 JUN 2025	XIV Meeting Arona Pruebas Combinadas	Antonio Domínguez Stadium, Arona	ESP
05–06 JUL 2025	Décastar	Stade Pierre Paul Bernard, Talence	FRA
26–27 JUL 2025	4th Wiesław Czapiewski Memorial	Stadion Miejski, Nakło nad Notecią	POL
31 JUL–03 AUG 2025	USA Championships	Hayward Field, Eugene, OR	USA
09–10 AUG 2025	EAP International Combined Events Meeting	Tynedale Athletics Park, Hexham	GBR

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