Olympic gold medallist Damian Warner celebrated his eighth decathlon victory at the esteemed Hypo Meeting in Götzis on Sunday, while Olympic silver medallist Anouk Vetter reclaimed her heptathlon title at the World Athletics Combined Events Challenge Gold meeting.
Warner’s triumph was marked by remarkable consistency, earning him 8678 points and allowing him to overtake early leader Simon Ehammer after the discus, the seventh event. Vetter also staged a comeback, her impressive 57.91m javelin throw propelling her into the lead with one event remaining.
In his first combined events competition since winning silver in Budapest last year, Warner set the pace with a 10.20 in the 100m. Olympic bronze medallist Ashley Moloney matched his personal best of 10.34, while Ehammer also improved to 10.34. Ken Mullings and Lindon Victor achieved personal bests with times of 10.45 and 10.48, respectively.
Ehammer, the world indoor heptathlon champion, moved into the lead after the long jump with an 8.25m leap, putting him 81 points ahead of Warner. Warner managed 7.80m, Moloney 7.75m, and Victor achieved a personal best of 7.73m.
The competition remained tight, with Ehammer and Warner throwing 14.08m and 14.55m in the shot put, respectively. Both cleared 2.03m in the high jump, and Warner clocked 47.46 in the 400m compared to Ehammer’s 48.22, narrowing Ehammer’s lead to 16 points by the end of day one.
Moloney was third at the halfway mark, with a shot put of 14.11m, a high jump of 2.00m, and a 400m time of 47.59. Lithuania’s Edgaras Benkunskas excelled in the shot put with a personal best of 15.91m, while Sven Roosen ran a lifetime best of 46.64 in the 400m. Mullings matched Warner and Ehammer’s high jump of 2.03m, with Tim Nowak and Niels Pittomvils also reaching this height.
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On day two, Warner closed the gap further by clocking 13.45 in the 110m hurdles, just shy of his meeting record, with Ehammer close behind at 13.55. Mullings’ 13.72 secured his move to third overall.
Warner took the lead with a 46.41m discus throw, significantly outdistancing Ehammer’s 37.36m. Victor moved to third with the day’s best mark of 52.34m. Ehammer regained some points by clearing 5.00m in the pole vault, while Warner managed 4.80m. Moloney, Victor, Erm, and Mullings were closely matched in the vault, adding to the competitive tension.
Warner’s 57.53m javelin throw kept him firmly in contention, heading into the 1500m with a 223-point lead. Ehammer dropped to fourth after a modest 48.57m throw, while Victor and Moloney moved into second and third with throws of 59.10m and 57.41m, respectively.
With a comfortable lead, Warner completed the 1500m in 4:36.94, securing his victory with a total of 8678 points. Ehammer did not start the 1500m, easing the podium battle. Roosen, finishing the 1500m in 4:20.77, claimed second place with a personal best and Olympic qualifying mark of 8517. Erm took third with 8462 points, ahead of Moloney’s best since his Olympic bronze in 2021. Victor was just one point behind in fifth, and Nowak set a personal best of 8282 in sixth.
In the heptathlon, Vetter’s steady start gave way to a dominant performance on day two. USA’s Michelle Atherley led early with a personal best and meeting record of 12.71 in the 100m hurdles. Lithuania’s Beatrice Juskeviciute and Switzerland’s Annik Kalin also impressed in the hurdles.
Atherley maintained her lead in the high jump, clearing 1.80m, while Vetter excelled in the shot put with a best of 15.37m. Despite a modest start, Vetter’s javelin throw of 56.05m set her on course for victory, consolidating with a final round throw of 57.91m. Kalin’s 6.70m long jump gave her a temporary lead, but Vetter’s javelin prowess proved decisive.
Atherley’s 2:08.55 in the 800m was not enough to catch Vetter, who finished in 2:21.37, winning with a total of 6642 points, the fourth-best mark of her career. Kalin finished with a season’s best of 6506 points, and Atherley’s personal best of 6465 secured her third place. Emma Oosterwegel and Vanessa Grimm rounded out the top five.
Warner and Vetter’s victories underscore their enduring excellence and competitive spirit in the world of athletics.
