Swoboda storms to sub-seven 60m in Torun

Ewa Swoboda made another big statement on Saturday (5), breaking seven seconds for 60m for the first time in her career with a world-leading 6.99 at the Polish Indoor Championships in Torun.

The 2019 European indoor champion now has the four fastest times so far this year to her name and this latest performance moves her into the top 10 on the world all-time list. It’s another Polish record for the 24-year-old and the first sub-seven-second women’s 60m since Murielle Ahoure’s 6.97 to win the world indoor title in Birmingham in 2018.

Swoboda will now head to the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22 with her sights on gold and in a season where four athletes have run 7.05 or faster, all the signs point to a thrilling battle for the title.

𝐄𝐖𝐀 𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐃𝐀 𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐀❗ 𝐍𝐨𝐰𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐤𝐢❗ Bariera 7 sekund złamana❗ 😱😱😱 #tvpsport pic.twitter.com/sVzuKUdtVX

— TVP SPORT (@sport_tvppl) March 5, 2022

Swoboda went into her national championships as the world leader following her 7.00 Polish record at the Orlen Cup in Lodz on 11 February. That had been her first competition in almost eight months following injury. She then narrowly beat Jamaica’s five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah at the ORLEN Copernicus Cup, also in Torun, on 22 February – 7.03 to 7.04.

After running 7.09 to win her heat on Saturday, Swoboda returned a short while later to improve that time by a tenth of a second, winning the national title ahead of hurdles specialist Pia Skrzyszowska (7.12 PB).

A second world-leading performance in Torun on Saturday was achieved by European U23 heptathlon champion Adrianna Sulek, who improved to a PB of 4756 points to win the pentathlon. The 22-year-old started with 8.36 in the 60m hurdles before clearing 1.89m in the high jump, throwing 13.50m in the shot, leaping 6.26m in the long jump and then clocking 2:12.82 in the 800m for the top performance in the world so far this year. Paulina Ligarska was second with a 4593-point PB.

Other winners on day one of the championships included Dominik Kopec, who pipped Przemyslaw Slowikowski to the men’s 60m title in a photo finish as both athletes recorded 6.66, plus 2014 world indoor 800m silver medallist Angelika Cichocka in the women’s 1500m and Klaudia Siciarz in the women’s 60m hurdles.

Another Polish record was run by Justyna Swiety-Ersetic on day two of the championships on Sunday as she clocked 51.04 in the 400m ahead of Anna Kielbasinska with 51.20 and Natalia Kaczmarek with 51.24. Patryk Sieradzki won the men's 800m in 1:51.59, while Cichocka claimed a tactical women's 800m win in 2:07.55. 

Konrad Bukowiecki threw 21.53m to claim the shot put title ahead of Michal Haratyk with 21.07m.

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