Silke Spiegelburg takes the only home win in Stuttgart (© Getty Images)
Leipzig, GermanyTwo women jumpers took centre stage on the second day of the German Indoor Championships in Leipzig on Sunday. In front of 4000 spectators Silke Spiegelburg won the Pole Vault with a national record of 4.71m while high jumper Ariane Friedrich once again showed great form, narrowly missing at 2.06m. She won the competition with a 2.00m clearance. Raúl Spank took the men’s event with 2.28m and showed promising attempts at 2.33m.
Women’s Events on day two
The women’s Pole Vault did not include as much drama as the men’s event on Saturday, but the results were even better. At 4.50m four athletes were still in contention for the three medals and the three tickets to Turin: Besides Spiegelburg, there were Anna Battke, Carolin Hingst and Kristina Gadschiew.
There was an upset for Hingst, because she missed that height while Gadschiew cleared it to establish another personal indoor best. Hingst had to settle for fourth with 4.45m while Gadschiew took third with 4.50m after missing out at 4.55 m. But her personal best might have been enough to snatch the third ticket to Turin despite Hingst having vaulted higher earlier in the season (4.60 m).
“This is superb for me. I have never taken a medal at the German Championships. And now I have done it with a personal best as well. I did not expect to achieve this medal since the other three had been very consistent this season,” said Gadschiew, who gives the selectors some headache regarding the choice for the third jumper for Turin.
There is no question regarding the two German top vaulters: Spiegelburg and Battke. Their duel produced even more disappointment for Hingst, because she was going to loose her German indoor record of 4.70m. Battke had taken the lead with a 4.60m clearance at her first attempt. When Spiegelburg missed she passed on her two remaining jumps to the next height of 4.65m, which she cleared at once. Battke had passed this height, which in the end put her under more pressure.
But the two jumpers’ communication during their duel was fine. And after Spiegelburg’s approach Battke quickly agreed to raise the bar to 4.71m instead of 4.70m, so that both would have a go at a new German indoor record.
“I knew this was possible if we both agree,” explained Spiegelburg, who flew over that mark at her second jump and started celebrating the highest jump of her career this far. Last summer the winner of the IAAF’s World Athletics Final had improved to 4.70m.
“I have now cleared 4.60m four times this season and each time I have then missed 4.71. May be it will happen next time. But taking second with 4.60 is fine, and Silke has simply jumped very well today,” said Battke, while Spiegelburg, who ended her competition after 4.71m, said: “I did not think about the record before. But it is always my aim to jump high and improve. I hope I can do that again in Turin.”
Spiegelburg’s success also was another triumph for her coach Lszek Klima, who is also in charge of Danny Ecker and Malte Mohr. Ecker had taken the gold on Saturday while Mohr surprised with a bronze and Turin qualification.
Friedrich threatens 2.06m
Friedrich showed another display of her brilliant form. A week after beating Blanka Vlasic in Karlsruhe with a personal best of 2.05m the 24 year-old showed that she is able to jump even higher. Friedrich started the competition with a 1.90m clearance and then went on to jump 1.96m and 2.00m at her first attempts as well. With second placed Meike Kröger (1.92m) out at 1.94m, Friedrich was the only one in the competition and moved the bar up to 2.06m. At her first two attempts she had almost cleared that height, but very slightly touched the bar with her calf or feet when coming down. The third jump was a more clear miss.
“My attempts at 2.06 all felt fine. Especially my second one was annoying, since I had the height, but then brought down the bar with my feet. The distance to the bar was not quite right. But I have this height in me,” said Friedrich, who looks forward to another duel with Vlasic in Turin. Friedrich’s performance in Leipzig sent another warning to Vlasic. And their duel might well put the World record of 2.08m under severe threat in Turin.
Men’s Events on day two
There was similar domination in the men’s High Jump, where Raúl Spank had already won the title with his opening jump. He cleared 2.18m at his first attempt and then jumped 2.24 and 2.28 at once as well. Spank then raised the bar to 2.33m, which would have been a personal best by one centimetre. He had promising attempts at that height, but missed.
“I think it is possible for me to jump that height in Turin,” Spank said. “It is my aim to reach the final at the European Indoors and to jump a personal best. I will try to win a medal.” Instead of competing in the coming week the German High Jump champion has to write exams at University, where he studies economic science.
In the absence of Thomas Blaschek, who suffered a calf muscle injury and watched the events as a spectator, his training partner Erik Balnuweit took the title in the 60m Hurdles in 7.63 seconds. Another hurdler from this training group, Willi Mathiszik, was second in 7.65 while Helge Schwarzer took third (7.69).
“It is my aim in Turin to confirm my time and maybe that will be enough to reach the final,” said Balnuweit.
There were some encouraging results by three German middle distance runners. In the 1500m final Carsten Schlangen successfully chased the qualifying standard of 3:41. Taking the lead right from the start he finally clocked 3:39.06. Schlangen was outsprinted on the last lap by Wolfram Müller, who took the profit of the speed work by Schlangen to clock 3:38.84 minutes. Third placed Stefan Eberhard also achieved the standard with 3:39.22. “I am happy despite loosing, since the qualifying standard was what mattered today,” said Schlangen.
In similar style Sebastian Keiner dominated the 800m. But there was no one who dared to follow his pace, which led him through the 400m mark in 52.29. Keiner held on to win with 1.47.81 from Steffen Co (1:50.19). With that time Keiner had just missed the Turin standard by 0.01 seconds. He would surely be nominated regarding his great performance, but the runner said: “Turin does not fit in with my plans. I am focused on Berlin in the summer. Today I wanted to test what I am capable of running alone at the front.”
Jörg Wenig for the IAAF
