Canada’s Damian Warner and Brianne Theisen-Eaton will defend their Hypo Meeting titles on 31 May at the 40th edition of the famous IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting in the Austrian town of Gotzis.Warner and Theisen-Eaton last year became the first athletes from the same country since 1988 to win the Hypo Meeting titles.In spite of bad weather conditions, Theisen-Eaton won the heptathlon there with 6376 points, while Warner triumphed in the decathlon with 8307.They went on to take medals at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, both setting personal bests. Warner took the bronze with 8512, while Theisen-Eaton earned the silver with 6530. They both ended the year in second place in the IAAF Combined Events Challenge standings.USA’s rising decathlon star Gunnar Nixon will also return to Gotzis. The world junior champion made his first Gotzis appearance last year and finished third. He went on to represent the USA at the World Championships in Moscow, where he scored a lifetime best of 8312, the best ever score by a US 20-year-old.Organisers for the IAAF

Canada’s Damian Warner and Brianne Theisen-Eaton will defend their Hypo Meeting titles on 31 May - 1 June at the 40th edition of the famous IAAF Combined Events Challenge meeting in the Austrian town of Gotzis.

Defending champions Theisen-Eaton and Warner return to Gotzis

The High Jump, the fourth event of the Decathlon, proved to be the event which changed the whole competition.There were heart-breaking moments for several athletes and all three Olympic medallists from London 2012 suffered setbacks. The biggest impact was on Trey Hardee, who had won the last two World titles in Berlin and Daegu as the US athlete didn’t clear his opening height of 1.90m. This of course meant the end of his medal hunt in Moscow.The High Jump went almost as badly for Cuban Leonel Suarez, who had won a record four successive medals in global championships. There will be no fifth straight medal as the 25-year-old was in trouble from the start, almost emulating Hardee and only clearing his opening height 1.84m on his third try.He then went on to jump 1.90m, also with his third attempt, before failing three times at 1.96m. Usually a consistent two-metre jumper, his High Jump performance today may well have ruined his chances of another medal.There was trouble for the Olympic champion and World record-holder as well with Ashton Eaton finishing the competition with just 1.96m.This too was considerably lower than expected and shows that with problems in the two jumping events, the Long Jump and High Jump, the US champion is carrying an injury, which will affect his performances in the remaining six events.What this also means is that Eaton is no longer the sole favourite to win. Instead it looks like Dutchman Eelco Sintnicolaas has a good shot at the medals after an outdoor personal best of 2.02m, six centimetres below his indoor best.There were big changes at the top of the Decathlon during the fourth event and the lead now belongs to US youngster Gunnar Nixon, who jumped 2.14m to top this event for 3611, giving him a clear lead.Nixon, however, is not strong enough during the second day to challenge for victory, or he would at least have to set some big personal bests to even get close to the others.Germany’s Michael Schrader continued well with a 1.99m clearance, which gives him the second place with 3501 before the last event of the first day.Eaton is in a tough spot now, having dropped back to third place with 3495. He needs a decent 400m result of 47.5 or faster; anything slower than that will give the others a real chance of challenging him for the gold.Canadian Damian Warner had another good event with a jump of 2.05m and is in fourth place with 3492, within touching distance of a medal. Sintnicolaas is fifth with 3421, closely followed by Belarusian Andrei Krauchanka, who jumped a season’s best of 2.11m for sixth place with 3413.German Rico Freimuth cleared 1.99m and is in seventh place (3389), but he and Brazilian Carlos Chinin, who cleared 1.96m today, are a bit behind from a medal pace right now and need to have a good result in the next couple of events to get back there with the others.In ninth place is the 2013 world leader, Germany’s Pascal Behrenbruch, and his 1.99m still keeps him in medal contention. With Eaton and Sintnicolaas, he is the third athlete who is set for a final score above 8500.Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

Report: Decathlon High Jump – Moscow 2013

The High Jump, the fourth event of the Decathlon, proved to be the event which changed the whole competition.

Olympic champion Ashton Eaton still leads the Decathlon comfortably after three events having scored 2755 points at this stage.The Oregon native had another slightly disappointing result in the Shot Put where he threw 14.39m, his worst result of the season in eight competitions following a 15.40m personal best season debut in March.Eaton’s lead is certain and he is going for a total of a little under 8900 points right now – provided he performs close to his best in the remaining events.The Shot Put was an event where plenty of athletes saw their medal hopes either dashed or come to life. Reigning champion Trey Hardee threw 14.61m result, which is significantly lower than what he expected and puts him in fifth overall with 2634. Unless today’s two remaining events go well, Hardee might be out of the medal fight before the second day even begins.German Michael Schrader is second with 2707, his 14.56m Shot Put mark was a decent one, but not his best and the 26-year-old needs a personal best from one of the events to be able to win a medal here.Two athletes who set personal bests in the Shot Put are currently in third and fourth. USA’s Gunnar Nixon set a personal best in the second successive event with 14.68m, bringing his tally to 2677. Damian Warner of Canada also set PB of 14.23m in this event, giving him 2642 in total.Brazilian Carlos Chinin followed two good results with a lower one; 14.49m in the Shot is way down on the PB of 15.28m he set earlier this summer. Cuban Leonel Suarez is still in 19th place having thrown 14.20m in the third event; not his best, but well enough to keep a medal in his mind before the High Jump.Twenty-six-year-old Dutchman Eelco Sintnicolaas reached a season’s best of 14.08m, which could lift him into medal contention. He is in seventh place now followed by two Germans, Rico Freimuth and Pascal Behrenbruch, the latter throwing 15.86m to win the Shot Put competition and still has a handle on a medal here.Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

Report: Decathlon Shot Put – Moscow 2013

Olympic champion Ashton Eaton still leads the Decathlon comfortably after three events having scored 2755 points at this stage.

After a great start in the Decathlon 100m, gold medal favourite Ashton Eaton suffered a minor setback in the second event, the Long Jump.His third jump of 7.73m is far from a disaster, but it still was some way off his results beyond eight metres in his earlier top Decathlons. The 25-year-old still has a clear lead with 2003 points after two events, but he can’t afford to lose similar amounts of points in the rest of the first day’s events.A few of the top athletes were in trouble in the Long Jump and some didn’t get a good enough result in the end. Some, however, were in their best form and these included 26-year-old German Michael Schrader, who followed a good 100m opener with a 7.85m season’s best in the Long Jump and is now in the second place in total points with a score of 1944.The surprise name in the second event was USA’s Gunnar Nixon, who smashed his personal best with a 7.80m jump, adding 18cm to his previous mark from the US Championships Decathlon. Nixon is now in third place with 1907.Canadian Damian Warner was slightly adrift of his London Olympics series in the Long Jump. The 23-year-old reached 7.39m, just one centimetre from his season’s best, and has 1900 points for the fourth place after two events.Serbian Mihail Dudas jumped 7.51m and has 1872 points for fifth place, while reigning champion Trey Hardee is sixth with 1868 after a 7.35m season’s best in the Long Jump. The US athlete still has a medal in his sight, although this was the shortest Long Jump result at a major championships during his career.Eelco Sintnicolaas of the Netherlands jumped an outdoor personal best of 7.65m, which also equals his indoor best. The European indoor champion is seventh with 1866, followed by Brazilian Carlos Chinin, who was at his best jumping 7.54m in the Long Jump, only one centimetre less than in his 8393 South American record series.German Rico Freimuth had a disappointing Long Jump as he only managed 7.22m and his hopes for a medal were thrashed with this result. Only in 19th place after two events is Cuban Leonel Suarez, but his 7.33m Long Jump performance was actually quite decent for him and his quest for a fifth successive medal in global championships is still on track.Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

Report: Men’s Decathlon Long Jump – Report

Report: Decathlon Long Jump – Moscow 2013

After a great start in the Decathlon 100m, gold medal favourite Ashton Eaton suffered a minor setback in the second event, the Long Jump.

Decathlon World record-holder Ashton Eaton was under pressure for much of the two days of competition in Des Moines, but he eventually triumphed at the 2013 US Championships – part of the IAAF Combined Events Challenge – to book his spot on the team for this year’s World Championships.The Olympic champion entered the competition with tendonitis in his leg, so was aiming to do just enough to get through the competition unscathed and secure one of the all-important top-three spots.He led after the first three events, having clocked 10.48 in the 100m, 7.59m in the Long Jump and 15.00m in the Shot. Two-time World champion Trey Hardee was 114 points behind Eaton at this stage with World junior champion Gunnar Nixon a further seven points adrift. Then came major changes after the High Jump.Nixon equalled his PB of 2.17m to score 963 points and move into the overall lead. Eaton, competing in the event which presented the biggest problems for his condition, settled for a 1.90m clearance, while Hardee skipped the event. As the defending World champion, however, Hardee’s place on the team was secured, whatever the outcome.Eaton ended the day with a 46.89 clocking in the 400m, but Nixon’s 48.63 gave him enough points to maintain his overall lead going into the second day, 4449 to 44.05.On day two, another conservative effort by Eaton in the 110m Hurdles saw Nixon extend his lead as they clocked 14.68 and 14.59 respectively.But in the Discus, Eaton finally regained the lead after throwing 43.99m to Nixon’s 40.32m. Eaton extended his lead after clearing 4.60m in the Pole Vault as Nixon managed just 4.30m. The pair were closer in the Javelin, Eaton throwing 60.36m to Nixon’s 60.44m.Nixon finished more than two seconds ahead of Eaton in the 1500m, 4:31.95 to 4:34.15, but it wasn’t enough to catch him as Eaton won with 8291.Nixon, still just 20 years old, was rewarded with a PB of 8198. It was just two points shy of the World Championships ‘A’ standard, but he will likely be on the team. Aside from Eaton and wildcard entry Hardee, only one other athlete – Jeremy Taiwo, who finished third here with 7925 – has the ‘A’ standard, so Nixon will be able to go to Moscow on the ‘B’ standard.Day sets world lead in HeptathlonLondon Olympian Sharon Day had the competition of her life to win the Heptathlon, adding more than 200 points to her previous best with a world-leading 6550.She began by equalling her PB in the 100m Hurdles, 13.54, then moved into the lead after the High Jump where she cleared 1.90m, her best height since 2009.From there, Day remained in the lead through to the end of the competition. She threw 13.77m in the Shot and ended the first day with a PB of 24.02 in the 200m.A wind-assisted 6.16m in the Long Jump – her best mark under any conditions – was followed by a huge PB of 47.38m in the Javelin. Day rounded out the competition with a season’s best of 2:12.12 in the 800m to bring her tally to 6550.The score moved her from 12th to fifth on the US all-time list and it’s the best score by US heptathlete since 2010.The rest of the field finished more than 500 points adrift of Day, but the battle for the minor places was a close one as just 119 points separated the next eight athletes.Bettie Wade held on for second with 6018, with NCAA indoor champion Erica Bougard finishing third with 5990.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Eaton and Day win US combined events titles – IAAF Combined Events Challenge

Decathlon World record-holder Ashton Eaton was under pressure for much of the two days of competition in Des Moines, but he eventually triumphed at the 2013 US Championships – part of the IAAF Combined Events Challenge – to book his spot on the team for this year’s World Championships.

Albuquerque, USA – Jenn Suhr set a World indoor record of 5.02m* in the women’s Pole Vault at the USA Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Centre on Saturday (March 2).The London Olympic gold medallist was in peak form with first-attempt clearances at 4.65m, 4.70m 4.80m, 4.90m and then the World indoor record of 5.02m. The record vault surpassed Yelena Isinbayeva’s standard of 5.01m set in Stockholm last year and added 14 centimetres to Suhr’s own indoor PB.“I was in a groove,” said Suhr. “It is stressful coming on second and third (attempts) and getting behind so I wanted first-attempt makes. It doesn’t always happen like this all the time but I was glad coming off the Olympic pressure that this one wasn’t as much pressure.”It was Suhr’s ninth American record in six years but her first World record. Suhr was confident of a good showing in the 1600m altitude of Albuquerque after clearing 4.79m at a low-key meet last week.“I knew some big things could happen,” said Suhr. “I just had to be healthy and come down the runway. That was the main goal, to be healthy, and I knew that if I could execute and stay focused and listen to the instructions that I had that it could happen. So I knew where I was in my training. I just wasn’t going to let everyone else know.”The thin air of New Mexico appeared to take its toll on Suhr after three attempts at 5.07m, which would have been an outright World record. Suhr appeared winded after her record clearance and laid on her back alongside the runway before her third attempt. She had a look of relief more than exuberance once the competition had ended.“I’m glad that I got five metres out of the way because it is a mental barrier,” said Suhr. “And once you clear it, you know 4.80m is going to look really bad to me.”Suhr had to work for her victory on Saturday with four vaulters over 4.60m. Runner-up Kylie Hutson cleared 4.75m to move into third on the US all-time list. Mary Saxer and Suhr’s training partner Janice Keppler were third and fourth at 4.60m.“I think it does help having competitors, but if you’re on, you are on,” said Suhr. “I knew what my goal was coming in and I knew I was going to be disappointed without it. But it is good to have that feeling of pressure where I know that I need to make that next bar or else I am not in first place.”Nixon and Day win combined eventsGunnar Nixon won the men’s Heptathlon with a meet-record and world age-20 best of 6232 points, while Sharon Day won the women’s Pentathlon contested on Friday (March 1) with 4478 points.Nixon, who last year broke the World junior record for the event, topped a field that included two-time World champion Trey Hardee and 2012 USA Decathlon champion Jake Arnold. Nixon, the reigning World junior decathlon champion, recorded personal bests in four of the seven events in the 60m (6.86), Shot (14.62m), 60m Hurdles (7.93) and Pole Vault (4.80m).Curtis Beach finished second with 5895 points with an effort of 2:33.40 in the 1000m to move up from fifth.Hardee, who was in second behind Nixon after the first day, 3527 to 3405 point, did not run in the 1000m after failed to score in the 60m Hurdles, having lined up to the starting blocks in training flats and then walking off the track after the gun had fired. After the hurdles, Hardee returned to the competition to equal his PB of 5.30m in the Pole Vault.In the women’s Pentathlon, Day defeated Bettie Wade, 4478 to 4333 points, to successfully defend her title. Day had the best mark of the field in the High Jump at 1.82m and a PB of 15.07m in the Shot. Day’s other marks were 8.57 in the 60m Hurdles, 5.82m in the Long Jump and 2:20.86 in the 800.DeLoach wins third consecutive Long Jump titleJanay DeLoach won her third national indoor title in a row in the women’s Long Jump with an effort of 6.80m. The London Olympic bronze medallist took the lead in the second round with a jump of 6.75m before extending her lead with her best effort in the sixth round. Whitney Gipson was second with 6.65m and Alesha Walker jumped 6.57m for third.Jeremy Hicks won the men’s Long Jump with 7.99m for his third national indoor title in four years. Dusty Jonas won the High Jump with 2.25m with Keith Moffatt in second at 2.22m.Thomas Freeman and Gwen Henry were the men’s and women’s Weight Throw winners. In the men’s competition, Freeman knocked off seven-time champion AG Kruger, 23.51m to 23.37m. Henry beat six-time reigning champion Amber Campbell to win the women’s competition, 24.70m to 23.68m.Will Leer won the men’s 3000m in 8:07.84 after steadily pulling away from Benjamin Bruce over the final two circuits of the 200m banked oval. The women’s 3000m went down to the wire with Chelsea Reilly winning in 9:23.12 to hold off Emily Infeld (9:23.24) and Lisa Uhl (9:23.37).Wariner top qualifier in 400m Athens Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner was the top qualifier in the 400m heats in 46.40 with 2005 World 400m Hurdles champion Bershawn Jackson claiming the second heat in 47.36. Mary Wineberg was the fastest qualifier in the women’s 400m in 52.51.World junior champion Ajee’ Wilson, who turned professional in January, had the fastest time in the women’s 800m heats with 2:04.66. In the men’s 800m, Tyler Mulder and American indoor 600m record-holder Erik Sowinski had the fastest times of 1:47.18 and 1:47.28 respectively.* pending the usual ratification proceduresKirby Lee for the IAAF

Suhr sets World indoor Pole Vault record of 5.02m at USA Indoor Championships

Jenn Suhr set a World indoor record of 5.02m in the women’s Pole Vault at the USA Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Centre on Saturday (March 2).