Dilshod Nazarov (© Getty Images)
The annual throwing meeting in the German city of Halle, now in its 39th edition, saw Tajikistan’s Dilshod Nazarov become the first hammer thrower to go over 80 metres this year when he achieved a personal best of 80.71m on Saturday (25).
The 2010 Asian Games champion, and a finalist at the 2011 IAAF World Championships and London 2012 Olympic Games, added 41cm to his previous best from 2011.
Second in Halle was local thrower Markus Esser with 77.86 but there was a good home win for Germany’s 2011 World champion David Storl in the Shot Put with 20.97m.
Christoph Harting, the younger brother of World qand Olympic champion Robert Harting, showed some of his sibling’s form in the Discus when improving his best to 64.99m and he had two other throws over 64 metres.
Poland took the men’s Javelin with Lukasz Grzeszcuk reaching 83.75m, Germany’s 2011 World champion Matthias de Zordo back in fourth with 79.80m.
Germany’s World record holder Betty Heidler won the women’s Hammer with 74.92m while Hungary’s Eva Orban improved her national record for the second time in five days when she threw 73.44m.
Germany’s 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships Sot Put gold medallist Christina Schwanitz continued her good form with her seventh consecutive competition over 19 metres, reaching 19.84m while Linda Stahl threw the Javelin 65.76m, the second best result this year, with Katharina Molitor second with 63.55m.
Another German thrower, 2012 World Junior Championships gold medallist Anna Ruh, triumphed in the Discus with 64.28m, just five centimetres away from her recent personal best. China’s Tan Jian was second with 64.08m and Germany’s Julia Fischer third with 64.04m in an exciting contest.
Elsewhere in Europe, two of the world’s top Hammer throwers were also going through their paces.
Slovenia’s 2008 Olympic champion Primoz Kozmus started his 2013 campaign, as has been traditional in recent years, at the 13th Slovenska Bistrica international meeting and threw 78.75m for his best start to a year since 2008.
Poland’s Pawel Fajdek, the only man to beat 2012 Olympic champion Krisztian Paris last year, defied rainy conditions and a treacherous circle to throw 78.02m in Bialymstok.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF
