Oosterwegel and Gletty win Decastar Titles in Talence
Olympic bronze medallist Emma Oosterwegel and Frenchman Makenson Gletty were the crowned champions of the 2023 Decastar Meeting, a World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold, on Sunday (24).
Women's Heptathlon
Olympic bronze medallist Emma Oosterwegel won the women’s heptathlon for the second consecutive edition of the Decastar meeting in Talence with 6495 points setting the qualifying standard for the Olympic Games in Paris. Oosterwegel improved her seasonal best moving to fourth in the world seasonal list. Makenson Gletty improved his PB by 164 points to 8443 to win the men’s decathlon in front of the enthusiastic crowd.
European bronze medallist Annik Kaelin from Switzerland leapt to 6.67m in the long jump to move to the top of the overall standings 36 points ahead of Talyiah Brooks, who jumped 6.24m. Emma Oosterwegel leapt to 6.18m to hold on her overall third place.
Oosterwegel smashed her PB to 56.56m in the javelin throw to take the lead in the overall lead. The Dutch threw 10 metres further than the next best athlete Marijike Esselink (46.75m). Kaelin also threw the javelin over the 46 metres barrier with 46.05m, while Brooks produced a throw of 37.41m.
Oosterwegel clocked 2:13.62 in the 800 metres to bring her tally to 6495 points, the second best score of her career behind the PB of 6590 she set when she won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo 2021. The Dutch athlete moved into the overall lead in the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold standings.
Kaelin placed second with 6390 points. The Swiss record holder, who did not finish the heptathlon at the World Championships due to an injury.
Brooks, who won the Multistars in Desenzano with her PB of 6330 points and finished third at the US Championships in Eugene, placed third with 6181 points.
The top seven finishers all broke the 6000 point-barrier.
Men's Dectahlon
Frenchman Makenson Gletty won the men’s decathlon with 8443 points in front of home crowd at the Decastar meeting in Talence. Gletty bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on qualifying for the World Championships in Budapest.
Gletty improved his previous PB of 8279 points set at the French Championships in Albi last July. The French decathlete clocked the fastest time of 14.01 in the 110 metres hurdles extending his lead over Manuel Eitel and Finley Gaio.
Gletty held on his lead with 41.67m in the discus throw. Eitel threw the discus to 43.18m to maintain his second place ahead of Lindon Victor (48.74m).
The French decathlete improved his pole vault PB by 17 cm to 5.07m to take a comfortable lead of 233 points over Eitel. Victor and Eitel cleared 4.77m and 4.67m respectively. Gaio did not start in the pole vault.
Eitel and Victor finished second and fourth in the javelin with 63.68m and 62.95m in the javelin to close the gap on Glettty, who held on his leading position with a PB of 59.77m.
Gletty ended the competition with a good 4:27.65 in the 1500 metres moving to sixth in the French all-time list and 14th on the world seasonal list. Gletty missed the qualifying standard for the Olympic Games in Paris by just 17 points.
German decathlete Manuel Eitel finished second with 8193 points repeating the same result as in last year’s edition. The German athlete improved his PB to 63.68m in the javelin and clocked the third fastest time of his career in the 1500 metres with 4:39.27.
Lindon Victor from Grenada, world bronze medallist in Budapest 2023 and winner in Talence last year, finished third with 7980 points ahead of Frenchman Baptiste Thierry (7951). Thierry won the pole vault with 5.37m.
Karel Tilga, winner at the Multistars in Desenzano and fourth in Goetzis and at the World Championships in Budapest, won the men’s overall standing of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold.
