Germany's Malaika Mihambo in action in the long jump (© Getty Images)
World champion Malaika Mihambo, competing off a shortened run-up, sailed out to a world-leading 7.03m to win the long jump at Anhalt 2020, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, in Dessau on Tuesday (8).
Elsewhere, Johannes Vetter won the javelin with 86.17m, while Ukrainian duo Yuliya Levchenko and Yaroslava Mahuchikh both exceeded the meeting record in the high jump with 1.96m as Levchenko won on countback.
Lining up for just her second competition of the outdoor season, Mihambo was in third place for the first four rounds. World silver medallist Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk led for the first half of the competition with her opening effort of 6.68m before 2011 world bronze medallist Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova took the lead with 6.72m in round four.
Bekh-Romanchukh regained the lead in the next round with 6.85m, but then Mihambo responded by flying out to 7.08m (0.8m/s) to take pole position and add 10 centimetres to Mironchyk-Ivanova’s world lead.
Vetter, competing just two days after he unleashed a 97.76m monster throw in Silesia, was understandably not quite at the same level today. As he explained on Sunday after producing the second-best throw in history: “Small things can make big differences. Last week I threw 84 metres, this week I threw 97.”
The 2017 world champion opened with a modest 79.56m, but it was enough to take an early lead. He then improved to 84.16m, which remained the best mark of the evening until the final round when Moldova’s Andrian Mardare threw a season’s best of 84.41m to take a surprise lead.
Not wanting to disappoint the German crowd, Vetter pulled out a winning effort of 86.17m with the last throw of the competition to take back the lead.
In their fourth clash of the outdoor season, Yuliya Levchenko levelled the score with compatriot Yaroslava Mahuchikh in the high jump. It was close once again, though, and they were level up to and including 1.87m with no failures on their card.
Levchenko took control of the competition with a second-time clearance at 1.90m, one attempt fewer than Mahuchikh required, and then went on to clear 1.93m first time. Mahuchikh, again, needed one extra attempt.
Both women then cleared 1.96m on their first tries before failing at 1.99m. Levchenko’s better record gave her the victory on countback, but both women bettered the previous meeting record of 1.92m set nine years ago by Levern Spencer.
In the men’s 100m, Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon Mudiyanselage set a national record of 10.16, getting the better of in-form German Deniz Almas, who was second in 10.18. European champion Elvira Herman won the 100m hurdles in 12.85m, and Piotr Lisek won the pole vault from Chris Nilsen, 5.80m to 5.70m.
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
Hynne clocks 1:59.15 to break Norwegian 800m record in Rovereto
After several near-misses, Hedda Hynne finally broke the Norwegian 800m record at the Palio Città della Quercia meeting in Rovereto, clocking 1:59.15 at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting on Tuesday (8).
The five-time national champion, who missed out on the World Championships final by one place last year, headed to Italy with a season’s best of 1:59.94 and following a third-place finish at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Stockholm.
She dominated the race in Rovereto, though, powering to victory in 1:59.15 to take 0.67 off the previous Norwegian record set 10 years ago by Ingvill Makestad Bovim. In a race where the top five finishers set PBs, Switzerland’s Lore Hofmann finished second with 2:00.51 ahead of Ireland’s Nadia Power (2:01.01).
World bronze medallist Ferguson Rotich won the men’s 800m in 1:44.82, scoring his third win in the past seven days after finishing first in Marseille and Silesia. Rotich held off fellow Kenyan Collins Kipruto, winner in Rovereto last year, who improved his season’s best to 1:45.26.
Several highlights came in the hurdles events, including a victory for Italy’s World University Games champion Luminosa Bogliolo. The three-time national champion, whose Stockholm victory last month made her the first Italian woman to win at a Diamond League meeting, won in 12.90 ahead of USA’s Taliyah Brooks (13.09).
“I didn’t really expect to run a fast time tonight,” said Bogliolo. “I thought the time would have been slower. This summer I’ve enjoyed competing against great hurdlers.”
After running the 100m hurdles, Brooks headed over to the runway and won the women’s long jump with 6.51m (-0.3m/s) ahead of world finalist Abigail Irozuru (6.50m).
USA’s Freddie Crittenden took a narrow win in the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.31 sharing the same time as world indoor champion Andy Pozzi. USA’s Aaron Mallett finished third in 13.39.
Wilfried Happio of France won the men’s 400m hurdles in 49.28, beating 2014 European silver medallist Rasmus Magi (49.79).
World and Olympic finalist Akani Simbine edged out Italy’s Marcell Jacobs in the men’s 100m, 10.17 to 10.21. Fausto Desalu finished third with 10.33 just a few days after winning the 200m in Brussels in 20.39.
In an even closer long jump contest, Simbine’s fellow South African Ruswahl Samaai beat Italian champion Filippo Randazzo by just one centimetre with 8.00m.
Elsewhere, European champion Christin Hussong won the javelin with 61.13m, German compatriot Corinna Schwab took a close win in the women’s 400m in 52.69 to finish 0.08 ahead of hurdles specialist Ayomide Folorunso, and Cuba’s Arialis Josefa Gandulla took a surprise victory in the women’s 100m in 11.39 ahead of world U20 bronze medallist Kristal Awuah (11.47).
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics
