Vidts breaks Thiam’s Belgian pentathlon record to take first major title in Belgrade

Following a European indoor silver and a fourth-place finish at the Olympic Games last year, Belgium’s Noor Vidts enjoyed a moment of glory when winning the pentathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22.

Poland’s Adrianna Sulek, the world leader going into the competition, pushed Vidts all the way and the pair were ultimately rewarded with national records.

Vidts and Sulek both got off to a strong start in the 60m hurdles. Vidts chopped 0.09 from her PB to post the fastest time of the day, 8.15, while Sulek matched the time she ran when she scored her world-leading mark, clocking 8.36.

Britain’s Holly Mills also set a PB of 8.15, while Kendell Williams ran a season’s best of 8.20. World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, contesting her first competition of the year, opened her account with 8.45.

Sulek took the lead after the second event as she cleared 1.89m in the high jump, once again matching her mark from her world-leading series. Vidts cleared 1.83m, just one centimetre shy of her lifetime best, while US indoor champion Chari Hawkins moved into third after clearing the same height.

Vidts regained the lead in the third event, thanks to a 14.03m heave in the shot put – the best mark of the day. Hawkins kept up the pressure with a 14.02m, and Sulek stayed within touching distance of Vidts after throwing 13.40m. Williams remained in fourth overall after throwing 12.81m, but Mills moved from ninth to sixth after sending her shot out to 13.68m.

Vidts extended her lead in the long jump, soaring out to an outright lifetime best of 6.60m. Sulek responded well, also producing an outright PB with 6.43m. But the best mark of the day from Williams, who broke the championship best with 6.69m.

Going into the final event, Vidts had a healthy – though not unbeatable – 67-point lead from Sulek, who has the faster outdoor 800m PB. Williams, meanwhile, had a 143-point lead over Mills, which translates to about 9.5 seconds in 800m terms.

Mills set off hard in the 800m in a bold bid for bronze, passing through half way in 1:02.49 with Vidts and Sulek about a second behind. Vidts moved into the lead half way around the final lap and fittingly crossed the line in first place, stopping the clock at 2:08.81.

Her 800m performance brought Vidts’ winning score to a world-leading 4929, breaking the Belgian record that had been held by her esteemed compatriot Nafi Thiam, the double Olympic heptathlon champion.

Sulek, after finishing second in the 800m with 2:09.56, took silver with a Polish record of 4851. Mills placed third in the 800m with 2:09.97, finishing well ahead of Williams but not quite enough to move into a podium position. Williams, who clocked 2:19.23, took bronze with a season’s best of 4680, seven points ahead of Mills. It’s Williams’ first global senior medal, having finished fifth at the 2016 World Indoors, 2019 World Championships and at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s crazy what happened today,” said Vidts. “It was a really nice competition with Adrianna Sulek and really close the whole way. It’s just crazy.”

World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who had been given a late wildcard entry to the World Indoor Championships, contested the first four events, but didn’t start for the 800m.

Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics