Church and Italinna Lead After Day One at the Multistars in Brescia
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The 38th edition of the Multistars meeting got underway on Saturday (26) at the Gabre Gabric Stadium in Brescia, Italy, with a packed first day of competition across the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon. Athletes battled through shifting winds and tight margins to put themselves in contention for podium spots. At the halfway point, Lewis Church of Great Britain and Finland’s Vilma Italinna emerged as the overnight leaders heading into Sunday’s final events.
Men’s Decathlon:
Switzerland’s Nino Portmann kicked off the men’s decathlon by winning the 100 metres in 10.72 seconds into a -1.3 m/s headwind. He finished ahead of Germany’s Manuel Eitel (10.82), European indoor heptathlon silver medallist Simon Ehammer from Switzerland (10.88), Robin Bodart (10.96), and Italy’s Andrea Cerrato (11.02).
Portmann backed it up by leaping 7.35m on his third attempt to take the long jump. Cerrato placed second with 7.31m, edging Germany’s Andreas Bechmann on countback. After two events, Portmann led with 1822 points, ahead of Cerrato (1744) and Italy’s Lorenzo Naidon (1731). Ehammer struggled early, only recording 6.61m after two fouls.
In the shot put, Sweden’s Marcus Nilsson, fourth at the 2022 European Championships, won with 15.33m on his third attempt. Eitel threw 15.08m to finish second, followed by Leon Mak (15.06m) and Lewis Church (15.04m). Ehammer placed fifth with 13.93m, while Portmann’s 13.52m allowed him to cling to the overall lead with 2521 points, just ahead of Eitel (2458) and Church (2455).
Fred Isaac Fleurisson from Germany won the high jump with a 2.07m clearance, beating Ehammer on countback. Lorenzo Modugno cleared 2.04m to edge Church and France’s Antoine Ferranti. After four events, Church moved into the overall lead with 3295 points, followed by Ehammer (3203), Ferranti (3195), Eitel (3189), Fleurisson (3185), and Portmann (3174).
Cerrato, the defending Multistars 400m winner, clocked 48.31 to win again, beating Ehammer (48.43) and Portmann (48.75). Church won the first heat with a personal best of 49.84, holding onto the overnight lead with 4117 points, ahead of Ehammer (4091), Cerrato (4058), and Portmann (4047).
Women’s Heptathlon:
Finland’s Vilma Italinna, the 2023 national indoor pentathlon champion, opened with a personal best 13.68 in the 100 metres hurdles into a -0.5 m/s headwind. Hanna Van Baast from the Netherlands followed close behind in 13.70.
Denmark’s Karla Schaerfe cleared all her heights cleanly up to 1.77m to win the high jump, narrowly missing 1.80m. Schaerfe, a three-time Danish champion in combined events, led the event. Ireland’s Anna McCauley finished second with 1.74m, edging Julia Slocka and Italinna on countback. Italinna twice improved her PB, clearing 1.71m and then 1.74m.
In the shot put, France’s Elisa Pineau threw a personal best of 14.90m, improving by 21 cm. Pineau, the 2023 Arona Combined Events Tour winner, moved into second place with 2566 points behind Schaerfe (2644 points), who threw 13.08m. Lucia Acklin from Switzerland, the world U20 silver medallist, threw 13.95m to sit third with 2543 points, ahead of Van Baast (2535).
Italinna clocked the fastest 200 metres time with 24.27 into a -0.8 m/s headwind, ahead of Swiss athlete Liana Trumpi (24.72) and Acklin (24.79). Pineau ran 25.78, dropping her to fifth overall.
Italinna’s strong 200m allowed her to reclaim the lead in the overall standings, closing day one with 3488 points. She leads Acklin (3449), Van Baast (3440), Denmark’s Betty Marie Jensen (3405), and Pineau (3383) heading into day two.
The Multistars action continues on Sunday, April 27, with the final five decathlon events and the concluding three heptathlon disciplines. With tight standings across the board, the competition remains wide open heading into a decisive second day in Brescia.
