Austria’s Ivona Dadic put on an impressive showing in Vienna with a world-leading pentathlon mark to claim the national indoor title with 4692 points.
Dadic, who has claimed medals at the 2016 European Championships and 2017 European Indoor Championships, achieved personal bests in the 60m hurdles (8.39) and the shot put (14.25m) to go alongside her high jump (1.82m), long jump (6.22m) and 800m (2:13.15).
While she was celebrating victory, there was an equally superb performance in second from Sarah Lagger who broke the national U20 record with a score of 4319.
After medals in Amsterdam and Belgrade, will there be another podium finish for Ivona Dadic in Berlin?
— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) February 4, 2018
Dadic set a world-leading pentathlon score of 4692 points in Vienna this afternoon.
60mH 8.39
HJ 1.82m
SP 14.25m
LJ 6.22m
800m 2:13.15#TheMoment is coming! pic.twitter.com/tYQPfgHSc8
Lagger’s long-time U20 rival Geraldine Ruckstuhl claimed the Swiss pentathlon title in Magglingen with 4455 points, defeating reigning European U23 champion Caroline Agnou by 15 points.
Elsewhere, Noor Vidts scored 4446 points to win the Belgian title with Nafissatou Thiam absent while Belarusian Yana Maksimava claimed her national title with 4353 points.
It is another big year for France’s Kevin Mayer, who has brilliantly taken on the role of the world’s best male multi-eventer since the retirement of Ashton Eaton.
After winning the world decathlon title in London, Mayer will be looking for a repeat performance at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham next month, a year after winning the European heptathlon crown in Belgrade with a European record.
His preparations are going well as he showed in Lyon on Sunday (4), clearing 5.30m in the pole vault (his lifetime best is 5.40m) and running the 1000m of 2.43 (his lifetime best is 2:37.30).
J’ai fait un 1000m hors Hepta...
— KevinMAYER Décathlon (@mayer_decathlon) February 4, 2018
5m30 Ã la Perche et 2’43 au 1000m. Bon dimanche!
Spécial mention à @clement_foucat qui m’a battu au 1000m pour aller chercher une belle 3ème place aux France Espoir! pic.twitter.com/f4aCupZbgg
Mayer’s next competition will be a triathlon on Wednesday (7) at the Meeting de Paris Indoor, a European Athletics Indoor Permit Meeting.
Eelco Sintnicolaas, who beat Mayer to the European indoor title in Gothenburg five years ago, also claimed the Dutch indoor heptathlon title in Appeldoorn with 5904 points.
O'Hare closes the show in New York with Wanamaker Mile victory
The NYRR Millrose Games is always one of the big events of any indoor season and at the 111th staging on Saturday (3), there was a superb result for Britain’s Chris O’Hare as he won the famous Wanamaker Mile.
He became the first Briton to win this race in 53 years since John Whetton as he showed good pace and had enough at the finish to triumph in 3:54,14, just ahead of United States’ Ben Blankenship (3:54.72) and former European U20 champion Josh Kerr (3:54.77).
O’Hare reached the world 1500m final in London last summer and should be in the mix for medals at the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships in August.
.@chrisohare1500 with son Ronan after winning #NYRRMillroseGames #WanamakerMile. @nyrr @ArmoryNYC pic.twitter.com/Y3XsiQQopC
— Jane Monti (@JaneMonti1) February 3, 2018
It will be in Berlin - and no doubt in Birmingham next month at the IAAF World Indoor Championships - that Greece’s Ekaterini Stefanidi will be chasing more honours. She opened her season by clearing 4.71m to take the victory for the third year in a row. Stefanidi memorably cleared 4.90m at the Millrose Games in 2016.
It was set to be a duel between Stefanidi and Sandi Morris, who won silver behind her in London last summer, but the American injured her back during the warm-up and did not compete.
Haratyk 21.45m and Guba 18.73m in Spala
Michal Haratyk is one of the most improved shot putters in recent seasons and the 25-year-old, who finished fifth at the IAAF World Championships in London last year, opened his season impressively, setting a lifetime best of 21.45m to move to equal second on the 2018 world indoor lists in Spala on Sunday.
His teammate Paulina Guba also set an outright lifetime best and world-leading mark of 18.73m.
A series of national championships also took place across Europe and at the Romanian Indoor Championships in Bucharest, European U23 triple jump champion Elena Andreea Panturoiu recorded an impressive 14.22m while veteran Marian Oprea topped the men’s triple jump with 16.44m.
In Belgrade, Asmir Kolasinac returned from an injury break to reach 19.96m to win the men’s shot put at the Serbian Indoor Championships and in a fine 400m, Tamara Salaski (53.15) beat Maja Ciric (53.37).
At the Turkish Indoor Championships, Demet Parlak achieved a national indoor pole vault record with 4.33m in Istanbul.
Pavel Maslak will be chasing a hat-trick of world indoor 400m titles in Birmingham next month and the Czech sharpened up for his title bid at the Prague Indoor Championships, winning the 200m in 20.98. He also finished third in the 60m in 6.80.
Vetter opens his season with world-lead in Offenburg
World javelin champion Johannes Vetter tested his early season shape at home in Offenburg and while he wasn’t entirely satisfied with his efforts on Saturday (3) afternoon, the German still reached out to a world-leading 84.08m.
Vetter’s early season shape is very much comparable to his shape at this point of the calendar twelve months ago when he opened his season with 84.36m at the same meeting. He will be looking to improve at next month’s European Throwing Cup in Leiria, Portugal.
At the Moldovan Winter Throwing Championships in Chisinau, Zalina Petrivskaya won the women’s hammer with 70.03m while her brother Serghei Marghiev won the men’s hammer with 75.87m.
Not what I was aiming for. But a solid test to 84m. #javelin #roadtoBerlin pic.twitter.com/5s3vgMUXtw
— Johannes Vetter (@jojo_javelin) February 3, 2018