European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen witnessed an elite field of athletes during the Ostrava Golden Spike meeting on Tuesday evening.
And as was the case during the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Prague, the Czech athletes gratified the spectators with some fine results.
Zuzana Hejnova showed she is making her way back to top shape after her 2014 season was plagued with injuries, winning the 400m hurdles in 55.13 ahead of fellow Czech compatriot Denisa Rosolova who was 0.31 back.
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“I was nervous entering the race because I wanted to prove I can still run as fast. I tried not to focus on my opponents and did not look back until I crossed the finish,' Hejnova said.
“My aim was to run below 55 seconds but considering the difficult weather conditions, I’m still glad with my time,” she added.
Heavy rain that poured down onto the track did not facilitate strong performances from the athletes.
The most entertaining event was the men’s javelin, where Kenya’s Julius Yego won with a national record throw of 86.88m ahead of Germany Thomas Röhler with 85.36m and Finland’s Tero Pitkí¤mí¤ki with 83.96.
Czech throwers Jakub Vadlejch and reigning world champion Vitezslav Vesely finished just off the podium with 82.61m and 82.37m.
Yego said: “It was an honour for me to compete in front of Jan Zelezny, my idol and role model. To win in his country is something special to me and I’m surprised with how far I was able to throw in the rain.”
Ostrava also marked the return of Usain Bolt who was competing for the first time over 200m in Europe this year as he triumphed in a time of 20.15.