DUPLANTIS ATTACKS THE WORLD RECORD IN THE WIND, SEDJATI AND CAUDERY PERFORMED THEIR SEASON BEST
Ostrava Golden Spike did not disappoint again. A great 12,000 spectators (plus another 3,000 guests and journalists) turned up and Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis once again confirmed that he is the king of his craft. He was the only one to jump 582 cm in the wind and sometimes in the rain, and then 6 meters on the third attempt. When asked what to do next, he answered without hesitation that he was going for the world record. The first two attempts were tests and during the third he already showed why he is so special. Despite the adverse weather conditions, he realistically attacked 625 cm. Finally, he promised to come in a year. We will see what the value of the world record will be at that time.
We experienced all four seasons in one afternoon and evening. At the beginning it was a beautiful summer, then spring with an unexpected rain, which brought winter with a cloud. The whole thing was subsequently completed by autumn in the very conclusion. We can only dream about what the athletes would be able to do if the summer lasted until 8 p. m.. Nevertheless, we saw the performance of the year in the 800 m run. Djamel Sedjati from Algeria ran a time of 1:43.51s after a great solo. We must also mention the pole vaulter Molly Caudery, who showed the maximum of the summer season. The British jumped 484 cm, breaking the meeting record by one centimeter after 20 years. It was held by Stacy Dragila since 2004, when it was even a world record.
Italian Leonardo Fabbri (22.40m) reigned the shot put. He attacked Ryan Crouser's meeting record from 2023 (22.63). Fabbri's third attempt was fatal. The referee judged him unsuccessful, but the athlete himself protested. The measurement showed 22.78m, which would be the record of the meeting, but the jury of appeal rejected the protest. The second, American Jordan Geist, broke the 22-meter barrier for the first time in his life (22.09).
The closely observed javelin thrower Jakub Vadlejch did not win after a big fight, but he performed a quality duel with the winning German Julian Weber (87.26m and 86.0 m). Japanese world champion Haruka Kitaguchi defeated the domestic javelin elite in the rain and wind and won the women competiotin with 60.4m.
Olympic champion Andre De Grasse dominated both sprints with (10.10s 100m, 20.09s 200m). How he would have done in warmer weather remains a mystery. Bahamian Steven Gardiner looked to be the clear winner of the 400m with a time of 44.39 (second best in meeting history), but Alexander Doom was breathing on his back. The Belgian achieved the European performance of the year (44.44s) and also a personal best. We also saw continental maximum in the 400-meter hurdles. Cathelijn Peeters from the Netherlands with a performance of 54.31 took care of the fifth best time in the history of the Golden Spike. Italian hurdler Alessandro Sibilio perofrmed 48.2s5 (fourth best performance in meet history).
There were also Polish sprint triumphs in Ostrava. Ewa Swoboda 100m in 11.05 s, which is the third best performance of the Golden Spike ever. Natalia Kaczmarek again flashed with a time of 50.09 in the 400m and provided the second best performance in the history of the meeting after Taťana Kocembová's record (49.67) from 1983. In the 400m, the young Lurdes Gloria Manuel shone with a great Czech junior record of 50.59 , at the same time the fourth best European performance in junior history and the best junior performance in Europe since 1991. The icing on the cake was the achievement of the Olympic limit.
A flood of personal bests in the national program, a successful final of the Chocolate Spike and vigorous veteran hundreds - this is already the traditional color of the Golden Spike. This time enriched by the throwing Para Golden Spike. There is something to build on for the future, see you on Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at the 64th Ostrava Golden Spike.
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