Balasz Baji of Hungary en route to the World University Games 110m hurdles title in Taipei City (© Organisers)
High hurdler Balasz Baji of Hungary and Czech long jumper Radek Juska produced the top performances over the final two days (27-28) of competition at the World University Games in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei.
Baji, who took surprise bronze at the World Championships, dominated the 110m hurdles on Sunday (27), winning by 0.20 in 13.35 over Kuei-Ru Chen of Chinese Taipei. The 28-year-old, who took European indoor silver over the 60m hurdles, lowered his own national record to 13.15 earlier this summer.
In the long jump, Juska followed up his 8.31m national record leap in qualifying on Sunday with a narrow victory in the final. The 24-year-old, a finalist at the last two World Championships, reached 8.02m in the third round to beat Yasser Mohammed Triki of Algeria, who reached 7.96m. Raihau Maiau of France was third with 7.91m.
Preiner dominates heptathlon
Propelled by personal bests in the high jump and 800m, Austria's Verena Preiner won the heptathlon on Sunday with 6224 points, just eight shy of the national U23 record she set at the European U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz six weeks ago.
The 22-year-old clocked 13.90 in the 100m hurdles, topped 1.77m in the high jump, threw the shot 13.32m and clocked 24.82 to build a sizable overnight 141-point lead after day one. On day two (27), she reached 5.94m in the long jump, threw the javelin 48.61m and clocked 2:09.35 in the 800m to amass a victory margin of 389 points over runner-up Alysha Jane Burnett of Australia.
Meanwhile, Oksana Okuneva of Ukraine dominated Monday's high jump competition with a 1.97m clearance, equalling the second highest leap of her career to beat back teammate Iryna Gerashchenko and European indoor champion Airine Palsyte who both topped out at 1.91m. The former got the nod for second on countback.
Rounding out action on the track, Mexican record holder Jesus Lopez Alvarez, 20, won Monday's 800m in 1:46.06.
In relay action, Japan won the men's 4x100m in 38.65, Switzerland the women's in 43.81.
Poland took the women's 4x400m relay in 3:26.75 before the men's race concluded the Games, won by the Dominican Republic in 3:04.34.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
