Damian Warner and Anouk Vetter Triumph at Hypo Meeting in Gotzis
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Olympic champion Damian Warner from Canada triumphed in the men's decathlon at the Hypo Meeting in Goetzis, scoring 8678 points. Anouk Vetter from the Netherlands secured her second victory in the women's heptathlon with a world-leading score of 6642 points.
Men's Decathlon
Warner set a seasonal best of 13.45 seconds in the 110 meters hurdles. Simon Ehammer, who led after the first day, also improved his seasonal best to 13.55 seconds. This narrowed Warner's gap to Ehammer to just two points in the overall standings (5634 to 5632). Ken Mullings from the Bahamas clocked 13.72 seconds, moving from fifth to third place with 5428 points.
Warner threw the discus 46.41m to take the lead in the overall standings with 6428 points. He built a 183-point gap over Ehammer, who managed a best throw of 37.46m. Grenada's world bronze medalist Lindon Victor won the discus throw with 52.34m, moving from sixth to third place with 6241 points. Australian Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Moloney threw the discus 44.53m, maintaining his fourth place with 6169 points.
Ehammer cleared 5.00m in the pole vault, reducing his gap to Warner, who equaled his seasonal best with 4.80m. Warner led with 7277 points, followed by Ehammer with 7155 points. Moloney vaulted 4.90m, moving past Victor into third place with 7049 points. Victor was just one point ahead of Johannes Erm, who won the pole vault with 5.10m.
Warner threw the javelin 57.53m, bringing his total to 7978 points. He built a 223-point lead over Victor, who improved his seasonal best to 59.10m and moved into second place with 7755 points, seven points ahead of Moloney, who threw the javelin 57.41m. Ehammer's throw of 48.57m dropped him to fourth place with 7772 points, and he decided not to run the 1500 meters.
José Ferreira Santana won the javelin throw with 65.05m. Sven Roosen from the Netherlands improved his personal best to 64.04m, moving from seventh to fifth with 7711 points.
Andrin Huber from Switzerland won the 1500 meters in 4:15.40, finishing five seconds ahead of Roosen (4:20.77). Warner's 4:36.94 finish was enough to secure his first place with 8678 points, claiming his eighth win at the Hypo Meeting.
“I am happy with my eighth win in Goetzis. The first day was OK, but I had some down events on the second day. This win is a good foundation to build on for the Olympic Games in Paris. I am happy with the 100 and 400 meters and the long jump. The pole vault was OK. I look forward to competing in Goetzis every year. I aim to repeat my Olympic gold in Paris next August,” said Warner.
Roosen improved his position to second with a personal best of 8517 points. Erm finished the 1500 meters in 4:27.17, climbing to third place with 8462 points, ahead of Moloney (8367) and Victor (8366). Tim Nowak finished sixth, improving his personal best to 8262 points.
Women's Heptathlon
European bronze medalist Annik Kälin leapt to a winning mark of 6.70m, moving from fourth to first place in the overall standings with 4855 points. Kälin narrowly missed her long jump personal best by just six cm. She held a small gap of six points over overnight leader Michelle Atherley from the USA, who jumped 6.18m. Olympic silver medalist Anouk Vetter ranked third with 4823 points after jumping 6.47m.
Vetter set her seasonal best in the javelin throw with 57.91m in her third attempt, moving into the lead with 5837 points. The Dutch athlete built a 201-point gap over Kälin, who improved her seasonal best to 45.93m, bringing her total to 5636 points. Atherley ranked third with 5479 points after her throw of 38.03m. Olympic bronze medalist Emma Oosterwegel threw the javelin 51.66m, moving from eleventh to fourth place with 5395 points.
Atherley won the 800 meters, setting a seasonal best of 2:08.55, finishing well ahead of Verena Mayr (2:11.09) and Emma Oosterwegel (2:11.55).
Vetter finished the 800 meters in 2:21.37, holding on to her first place with a world-leading score of 6642 points, the fourth-best performance of her career. Kälin clocked 2:16.63 to finish second, setting her seasonal best and the second-best performance of her career with 6506 points. Atherley took third place with a lifetime best of 6465 points, ahead of Oosterwegel (6337), Vanessa Grimm (6307), Tori West (6245 PB), and Annie Kunz (6209). Abigail Pawlett finished eleventh with 6011 points and received the “Rookie of the Year” Award.
Vetter won in Goetzis for the second time in her career, repeating her 2022 triumph when she scored 6693 points. The Dutch athlete has also won two silver medals at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics with 6689 points and the 2022 World Championships in Eugene with 6867 points.
“I did not expect to win after the first day. My opening event did not go well. I am happy to win for the second time in Goetzis. The long jump and the javelin throw were decent. It was not easy to win. The atmosphere was amazing. I chose to compete in Goetzis instead of the European Championships in Rome. I will take a holiday before starting my preparation for the Olympic Games in Paris,” said Anouk Vetter.
