Damian Warner in the heptathlon 60m at the 2018 World Indoor Championships (© Getty Images)
Three of the top four finishers from the decathlon at the Tokyo Olympics will resume their rivalry in the heptathlon in Belgrade, though they’ve all taken very different approaches.
Olympic champion Damian Warner knows the drill when it comes to the World Indoor Championships. He made his debut at the event back in 2014, finishing seventh, and then improved to the silver medal position in 2018, setting a Canadian record of 6343.
The 32-year-old, who last year became just the fourth decathlete in history to surpass 9000 points, has competed sparingly in 2022, but his 7.63 season’s best in the 60m hurdles – just 0.01 shy of his PB – shows he is in good form.
Whether he’s in the kind of form needed to beat Garrett Scantling, however, is another matter entirely.
The US all-rounder put together a phenomenal series to win the US indoor heptathlon title in February, scoring a world-leading 6382 and moving to ninth on the world indoor all-time list in the process, seven places ahead of Warner.
Given how Scantling came close to matching his US Trials score (8647) in the Olympic decathlon (8611) last year, it’s safe to assume he can similarly reproduce his US title-winning form in Belgrade. And if he does, Warner will need the heptathlon of his life to stay in touch.
While Warner and Scantling have extensive indoor experience, the same cannot be said of Australia’s Ashley Moloney.
The Olympic bronze medallist has never previously contested a single indoor competition, let alone a full heptathlon. But what the 22-year-old lacks in experience, he more than makes up for with talent.
The 2018 world U18 champion is a strong sprinter and jumper, which will serve him well for five of the seven disciplines. His throws and distance running are solid too, so it’s highly likely he’ll surpass 6000 points and break the Oceanian indoor record (5949).
But whether it will be enough for a medal is more down to how the rest of the field performas And unluckily for Moloney, it’s pretty strong.
Simon Ehammer and Andri Oberholzer pack a formidable 1-2 punch for Switzerland. Before Scantling’s US Championships win, Ehammer held the world-leading mark with his 6285 national indoor record at the end of January. Within that series, the 22-year-old set a world indoor heptathlon best of 8.26m in the long jump, and he’ll be looking to bank valuable points in that discipline again in Belgrade.
Two weeks after Ehammer’s record, Oberholzer became the second Swiss combined eventer to surpass 6000 points, scoring 6041 in Magglingen.
Estonia, as is always the case in men’s combined events, fields a strong team. Karel Tilga, the NCAA champion indoors and outdoors last year, hasn’t contested a heptathlon so far in 2022 but has shown good form in individual disciplines. Teammate Hans-Christian Hausenberg, meanwhile, joined the 6000-point club in Tallinn in February, scoring a lifetime best of 6143.
Others in the field include 2019 European indoor champion Jorge Urena of Spain, 2017 world bronze medallist Kai Kazmirek of Germany, Commonwealth champion Lindon Victor of Grenada, US Olympian Steve Bastien, and Italy’s Dario Dester.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
