History repeats as Crestan and Molnar headline record spree in Ostrava

One year on from breaking long-standing meeting records at the Czech Indoor Gala, Belgian 800m runner Eliot Crestan and Hungarian 400m sprinter Attila Molnar returned to the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Ostrava on Tuesday (3) and revised the marks in their respective disciplines.

Crestan catapulted himself up to fourth on the world short track all-time list with his 800m victory of 1:43.83, while Molnar improved the European short track 400m record with 45.01.

They were just two of the six athletes who achieved back-to-back wins and contributed to a strong sense of déjà vu at Ostrava’s Atletická Hala; other repeat winners included world champions Isaac Nader and Mattia Furlani in the men’s 3000m and long jump, as well as Dutch 400m runner Lieke Klaver and Slovenian pole vaulter Tina Sutej.

But on a day when meeting records were broken in nine events, it was Crestan and Molnar who stole the show.

The men’s 800m was perfectly paced from the outset and – unusually for this discipline – was devoid of any bumping and barging. The pacemaker led through half way in 51.04 with the field already in single file. Poland’s Maciej Wyderka led into the final lap, but Crestan – who has earned silver and bronze medals at the past two editions of both the World Indoors and the European Indoors – timed his finish to perfection.

The Belgian breezed into the lead and charged through the finish line in 1:43.83, smashing his own meeting record by almost a second and producing his fifth consecutive sub-1:45 indoor 800m final. Wyderka held on for second place in 1:44.07, taking half a second off Adam Kszczot’s Polish indoor record and moving to sixth on the world all-time list. In third, Mark English once again revised the Irish record with 1:44.23, finishing ahead of European indoor champion Samuel Chapple (1:44.75).

In what proved to be the fastest indoor race in history, best marks-for-place were set in second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth.

What the men’s 400m lacked in drama, it made up for with speed. Molnar, the European indoor champion, led through half way in 21.45. Jonas Phijffers of the Netherlands put up a strong challenge throughout, but Molnar judged his effort to perfection and crossed the line in 45.01, breaking the European short track record that had been shared by East Germany’s Thomas Schonlebe and Norway’s Karsten Warholm (45.05), and taking 0.07 off his own meeting record.

Phijffers was rewarded with a PB of 45.48 in second place, equalling the Dutch short track record.

Polish double in hurdles, Ethiopian double in women’s middle distance

Poland dominated the 60m hurdles, producing meeting records in both contests.

In the women’s event, Pia Skrzyszowska set the tone early by storming to a world lead and meeting record of 7.78 in the heats. She came close to matching that mark in the final, taking victory in 7.80 ahead of USA’s Alaysha Johnson, who clocked 7.88.

Half an hour earlier, compatriot Jakub Szymański delivered another standout performance in the men’s race. After trailing slightly out of the blocks behind Eric Edwards, Szymański powered through the closing stages to win in 7.48, breaking the long-standing meeting record set by Dayron Robles back in 2014. Edwards held on for second in a PB of 7.53.

Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom produced one of the performances of the night in the 1500m, holding off compatriot Saron Berhe to win in a world-leading and meeting record 4:00.62. Berhe followed closely in 4:01.23 which, pending ratification, would be an improvement on the official world U20 short track record of 4:01.57.

The women’s 800m also went to Ethiopia as world indoor silver medallist Nigist Getachew led from the gun and never relinquished control, winning in 1:59.98 ahead of Slovakia’s Gabriela Gajanová (2:00.45).

Getachew’s time was an improvement on the meeting record that had been set in the ‘B’ race earlier in the programme. Sixteen-year-old Slovenian Živa Remic won that race in 2:00.73, setting a European U18 short track best and moving to second on the world U18 all-time list.

World 1500m champion Isaac Nader, contesting his first indoor 3000m in four years, claimed his third successive Ostrava victory after previous wins over 1500m and the mile. He bided his time behind the pacemakers during the first half, then took command in the closing stages, holding off a late surge from South Africa’s Tshepo Tshite.

Nader won in a meeting record of 7:38.05, breaking a Portuguese short track record that had stood since 2000. Tshite, racing over 3000m for the first time, was also rewarded with a national record in second place (7:38.17).

In the men’s long jump – possibly the most competitive event of the day – world champion Mattia Furlani soared to a meeting record of 8.30m. Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Saraboyukov took an early lead with 8.21m in round three, which was matched by Furlani in that same round. Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou then took the lead in round four with 8.23m, but Furlani produced the winning leap in round five.

Jordan Geist was another athlete to produce a world-leading meeting record. The US athlete dominated the men’s shot put, winning with 22.04m.

On the track, Lieke Klaver continued her affinity with Ostrava by winning the women’s 400m in a world-leading 51.00. Home talent Lurdes Gloria Manuel, racing for the first time since May last year, clocked a PB of 51.12 in second, while Slovakia’s hurdles specialist Emma Zapletová set a national record of 51.24 in third.

Elsewhere in the sprints, European indoor champion Zaynab Dosso took the women’s 60m in 7.09 ahead of Patrizia van der Weken (7.14). World 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt and Czech record-holder Karolína Maňasová were tied for third in 7.17.

Slovenia’s Tina Šutej was another repeat winner from last year. The world bronze medallist won the women’s pole vault with 4.70m.