It was a weekend of national championships across Europe and in Kirovograd, a stunning performance from Ukraine javelin thrower Hanna Hatsko-Fedusova.
Not only did Hatsko-Fedusova break the national record with her fourth round effort of 67.29m, the performance was the second best in the world and equally put her second on the European Athletics rankings this summer.
Suddenly she is among the medal contenders for the European Athletics Championships in Zurich next month, sitting above world record-holder Barbora Spotakova, with 66.96m, in those lists.
It is Germany’s Linda Stahl, the 2010 European champion, who tops the rankings with her 67.32m from New York in June, but Hatsko-Fedusova is not far away as the tension starts to rise in the weeks leading up to the main event of the summer.
Stahl, herself, was in action too at the German Championships in Ulm on Sunday when she won with 63.55m but will now discover in Hatsko-Fedusova that she has a new rival in the chase for European gold.
Her German teammate Robert Harting will be defending his discus title in Switzerland and on a day of rain interventions, he secured the national title with a throw of 66.67m to beat Martin Wierig, with 64.94m, and Daniel Jasinski, with 63.66m.
Twenty-four hours earlier on the opening day of the championships, Julian Reus broke the national 100m record time with a run of 10.05 (+1.8) in the semi-finals. He went event quicker to take the title with 10.01, but that was with an illegal wind-assist of +2.2.
Yet his name now joins the exciting lists of sprinters gunning for that 100m crown in Zurich.
In Kaunas, Airine Palsyte was very much the star of the second day of the Lithuanian Championships as she broke the high jump national record with 1.98m.
It was an effort which took her to joint-sixth on the European Athletics rankings and into the conversation about who will make the podium in Zurich.
The Borlee family were at the forefront of the medals at the Belgium Championships in Brussels.
Kevin won the 400m in 45.28 as he beat his brother Jonathan who was second in 45.61 with Julien Watrin third in 45.68 while their sister, Olivia, achieved a fine sprint double, winning the 100m in 11.54 and 200m in 23.50.
In the men’s long jump, Mathias Broothaerts leaped to 8.07m, a national under-23 record, and in the women’s hammer which was staged in Nivelles, Jolien Boumkwo also broke the national record as she won with 66.92m.
Alcobendas was the venue for the Spanish Championships where Borja Vivas moved himself to fourth in the European Athletics rankings with 21.07m, which was also a meeting record, as he beat two athletes achieving personal bests - Yioser Toledo in second with 20.25m and Carlos Tobalina in third with 20.15m.
Churandy Martina, of the Netherlands, will be the defending 200m champion in Zurich and at the Dutch Championships in Amsterdam, he won in 20.62 while multi-event star Dafne Schippers, who has opted to sprint in Switzerland, broke the national long jump record with 6.78m.
Liemarvin Bonevacia achieved a national record of 45.41 in the 400m as did Nadine Broersen, the world indoor pentathlon champion, in the high jump with 1.91m.
On the final day of the Russian Championships on Saturday, Danyil Tsyplakov’s personal best of 2.32m brought him high jump glory ahead of Aleksey Dmitrik with 2.28m to secure their place in Zurich along with Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov who has been given a bye.
In Frauenfeld, at the Swiss Championships, Noemi Zbaren produced a personal best performance of 12.92 to take the 100m hurdles and in Lisbon, Sara Moreira, in 15:31.11, beat Ana Dulce Felix, in 15:38.62, to win the 5000m on the second day of National Championships.
At the 73rd Balkan Championships in Pitesti, it was a good weekend for the home nation Romania as they won a series of events and the overall title.
On the first day, Andreea Ograzeanu was first in the 100m in 11.33, Bianca Razor took the 400m in 52.24, Mirela Lavric triumphed in the 800m in 2:04.21, Angela Morosanu won the 400m hurdles in 57.43 and Cristina Bujin led the way in the triple jump with 14.11m.
Romania ended as the leading country with 328.5 points from Türkiye with 224, Bulgaria with 174.5, Greece with 166 and Croatia with 137 after second day home wins for Alina Rotaru in the long jump with 6.72m, Bianca Perie in the hammer with 69.42, the women’s 4x400m team in 3:31.02 and Marian Oprea, in the men’s triple jump, with 16.77m.
THE WEEK AHEAD
There are 51 meetings this week. Visit our European Athletics Calendar for all the details.