Ivana Spanovic provided the highlight of the Serbian Open Indoor Meeting in Belgrade, a European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting, on Wednesday (20) evening.
After jumping 6.78m in Birmingham on Saturday, Spanovic extended her season’s best to 6.92m to move to second on the 2019 world list behind Germany’s Malaika Mihambo who jumped 6.99m at the ISTAF Indoor in Berlin at the start of the month.
Spanovic began her series with two no-jumps before reaching out to a season’s best of 6.92m. She also had two jumps recorded at 6.90m and also surpassed her pre-competition season’s best with 6.84m in the fifth round.
“As far as my performance is concerned, I am more than happy with all the jumps I have performed. Regardless of the seriousness of the injury that I had last year, I am pleased to be back on track and at the level at which I should be ahead of the European Championship,” Spanovic told the local press after the competition.
Spanovic had to miss the European Championships final in Berlin due to an Achilles rupture but she will be targeting a third successive European indoor title in Glasgow from 1-3 March.
There was a Serbian double in the long jump with Strahinja Jovancevic winning the men’s competition with 7.85m ahead of former European indoor champion Michel Torneus from Sweden with 7.67m.
Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Mesud Pezer extended his season’s best to 20.99m - the third best throw of his career - to win a high quality shot put ahead of former European indoor champion and home favourite Asmir Kolasinac (20.34m) and Croatia’s world bronze medallist Stipe Zunic (20.32m).
Pezer’s teammate Amel Tuka stepped down in distance to win the 400m in 47.40 and there was a Serbian double in the 1500m with Elzan Bibic (3:43.22) and Amela Terzic (4:20.71) taking the spoils.