In the last two summers, Belgian discus thrower Philip Milanov has won two major championship silver medals, which is impressive going for an athlete who combines the hours needed to train to reach the top with that of being a student.
Could this be the year where he wins gold?
If it is, then he will see Saturday’s victory as an important staging post on the way as he beat the man who beat him on both those occasions.
A throw of 64.94m saw Milanov triumph at the IAAF Diamond League in Shanghai and in the process defeat Polish rival Piotr Malachowski, who was second with 64.36m.
Suddenly, a reversal of fortunes and positions from the IAAF World Championships in Beijing in 2015 and the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam last year.
Milanov secured his best distance with his third effort, with Malachowski’s furthest coming in the second round.
But by the end of that round, Milanov had reached 64.58m so he was always in command, just the third time in 20 encounters with Malachowski that he had finished in front of the Pole.
The pair’s duels are set to be an exciting theme all the way through to this summer’s world championships in London, though the 25-year-old Bruges-born thrower knows his life is something of a balancing act.
He said: “I am still studying – digital arts and entertainment. I am in my second year and still have three to go.
“Sport is my number one [commitment]. It is pretty hard to combine my full-time studies and top sport but I am willing to do both.”
He left Shanghai with mixed feelings about his performance and knows he has more in the tank.
“I got two throws I thought over 65 metres, which were a red flag. This was a bit disappointing, but for one of my first competitions this is good,” he added.
“My body felt good in the warm-up, I felt strong. My 64.94m is not perfect, but I am confident that the better shape will come. My training in the winter had ups and downs in terms of results, therefore it is now the time to find the rhythm and throw constantly.”
Such is the strength of men’s discus throwing in Europe that all eight places were taken up by athletes from the continent, with Sweden’s Daniel Stahl, who leads the European rankings with 68.36m, this time third with 64.14m.
And while it was the discus on Saturday, it was not the discus as we normally know it as the men’s and women’s competitions were both staged at the same time, with each having alternate throws.
Europe could also celebrate a win in the women’s event too as Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic, who was hoping to break her national record of 71.08m, won for the fourth time here with her second round 66.94m.
She had eyed-up that record because of her season’s best of 70.23m. “I know I am in better shape, so I am happy with first.”
Lavillenie back at last
Renaud Lavillenie suffered a frustrating winter when injury ruled him out of chasing a fifth success European Athletics Indoor Championship title but it seems to be now full steam ahead for the summer for the French pole vaulting superstar.
The world crown is the one gold medal missing from his collection and he will be determined to put that right in London.
Second in Shanghai was not a bad start to his outdoor campaign as he cleared a best of 5.83m as USA’s Sam Kendricks won with 5.88m.
After injury curtailed his indoor season, Renaud Lavillenie was back in form with a 5.83m clearance in the Shanghai Diamond League. pic.twitter.com/44iDR0LWwJ
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) 13 May 2017
It was a good meeting generally for European athletes, with several athletes moving to the top of the 2017 European lists and one old face back in the international arena.
Spain’s Orlando Ortega, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games 110m hurdles silver medallist, became the top European so far in 2017 with 13.15 as he finished second in the 110m hurdles behind Jamaica’s Omar McLeod (13.09), the man who beat him in Rio.
The top three European 800m times of 2017 came in a race won by Kenya’s Kipyegon Bett in 1:44.70. Polish duo Adam Kszczot and Marcin Lewandowski were sixth and seventh in 1:45.45 and 1:45.87 respectively with followed by the Netherlands’ Thijmen Kupers ninth in 1:46.84.
Estonia’s Rasmus Magi now tops the men’s 400m hurdles list after he was third in 49.38 as USA’s Bershawn Jackson triumphed in 48.63 while Ukraine’s Olha Zemlyak tops the women’s 400m rankings with 50.89 after also finishing third, behind Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo who won in 49.77.
Poland’s Angelika Cichocka becomes European number one in the 1500m after her sixth place finish in 4:06:23 in the quickest race in the world this year, which was won by Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon in 3:59.22.
It produced the four top European times of the year, with Romania’s Claudia Mihaela Bobocea following Cichocka home in seventh in 4:06.33, with the Netherlands’ Maureen Koster ninth in 4:07.38 and Italy’s Margherita Magnani 13th in 4:09.65.