Anita Wlodarczyk in action in the hammer (© Getty Images)
Just two days after breaking the meeting record in Ostrava with a world-leading throw, world hammer champion Anita Wlodarczyk repeated that feat at the Hallesche Werfertage throws competition in the German city of Halle on Saturday (21).
The world record-holder opened with 76.40m before sending her hammer out to her winning distance of 79.48m in round two. After a foul in round three, she closed out her series with marks of 79.04m, 78.80m and 78.90m. The shortest of her five valid marks would have been enough to win the competition by almost four metres.
Her 79.48m added six centimetres to Betty Heidler’s meeting record, which was also a world record when it was established in 2011. It is also the fourth-best throw in history and is a mark which no other woman – apart from Wlodarczyk – has ever bettered.
As was the case in Ostrava, Asian record-holder Zheng Wang was a distant second, this time throwing 72.46m. Britain’s Sophie Hitchon was third with 71.63m.
Another world-leading mark came in the women's shot put as China's world silver medallist Gong Lijiao threw 20.43m, breaking her PB which had stood since 2009. Her winning mark is the best throw by a Chinese shot putter since 1994.
It proved to be a good day for Polish athletes as Pawel Fajdek and Konrad Bukowiecki continued their winning ways in their respective events.
Fajdek enjoyed a more comfortable victory than he had done in Ostrava two days ago, the world champion winning the men’s hammer with a last-round effort of 80.39m with two other throws beyond 79 metres while world silver medallist Dilshod Nazarov was second with 78.34m.
Less than 24 hours after defeating compatriot and two-time Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski in Ostrava, world junior champion Konrad Bukowiecki beat Germany’s two-time world champion David Storl in the shot put.
Bukowiecki led from the first round, opening with 20.45m and then ending his series with his winning distance of 20.62m. Storl, who had surgery over the winter, produced his best effort in the first round with 20.25m and had four other throws beyond 20 metres.
Fischer beats Caballero
Aside from the Polish victories, athletes from the host nation also produced some winning performances.
German discus thrower Julia Fischer made it two PBs from two competitions so far in 2016. Having opened her season last weekend with a lifetime best of 66.59m in Wiesbaden, the world finalist added almost two metres to that mark in Halle to win with 68.49m, the best mark by a German thrower for four years.
World champion Denia Caballero had taken a narrow lead in the second round with 63.89m before Fischer responded with 64.14m. Asian champion Su Xinyue of China then moved into first place as she sent her discus flying to a personal best of 65.40m, but her lead was short lived as Caballero produced a throw of 66.41m.
Nadine Muller, who had briefly moved into second place in the fifth round, was demoted further to fifth place when China’s Feng Bin threw 65.14m with her last attempt. Fischer also saved her best for last, going from third to first with her final effort of 68.49m.
Germany’s 2013 world champion Christina Obergfoll produced her best throw since August 2013 to win the javelin. Mathilde Andraud broke the French record with her opening effort of 63.54m, but Obergfoll responded in the fourth round with 64.96m.
One year on from his surprise victory in a personal best of 67.93m, world finalist Christoph Harting successfully defended his discus title. His first-round throw of 65.61m remained the best mark of the day as compatriot Daniel Jasinski took second place with 65.38m.
Elsewhere, Julian Weber set a personal best of 82.69m to win the javelin from fellow German Johannes Vetter.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
