Hall and Owens Delerme Lead After Thrilling Opening Day at Hypo Meeting in Götzis

World silver medallist Anna Hall of the United States and Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens Delerme emerged as the overnight leaders after an action-packed first day of the Hypo Meeting in Götzis, Austria on Saturday, May 31. Held under sunny skies at the iconic Mösle Stadium, the opening day of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting featured standout performances, lifetime bests, and a tightly contested men’s decathlon. Hall holds a commanding lead of over 200 points in the heptathlon, while Owens Delerme heads a stacked leaderboard in the men’s decathlon, with ten athletes still in medal contention.

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Men’s Decathlon:

Ayden Owens Delerme began strongly with a 10.33 clocking in the 100 metres, run into a -1.0 m/s headwind in heat six. He edged out eight-time Götzis champion Damian Warner (10.39), Germany’s Manuel Eitel (10.46), and Simon Ehammer of Switzerland (10.57), the 2024 world indoor heptathlon champion.

In the fourth heat, Great Britain’s Sammy Ball ran 10.55 ahead of Rik Taam (10.64), Brazil’s José Fernando Ferreira (10.65), and Olympic silver medallist Leo Neugebauer (10.66). Kyle Garland of the USA won heat five in a PB of 10.50, narrowly ahead of Grenada’s Lindon Victor (10.52). Norway’s Sander Skotheim set a lifetime best of 10.70.

Ehammer soared to 8.34m (+1.7 m/s) in the long jump, taking the overall lead with 2108 points. It marked the third-best jump of his career and was just 11 cm shy of his own world decathlon best. Skotheim followed with a superb 8.06m to place second overall (2005), while Neugebauer landed at 7.91m to move into third (1976). Owens Delerme jumped 7.65m, and Warner managed 7.51m.

Owens Delerme reclaimed the lead in the shot put, throwing 16.19m—just 7 cm shy of his personal best—for an overall score of 2851. Neugebauer’s 15.93m moved him into second with 2823, while Ehammer’s 13.60m kept him in podium contention.

Garland was the only other athlete to surpass 16m in the shot, reaching 16.14m.

In the high jump, Garland and Skotheim shared top honours at 2.15m. Baldwin cleared 2.12m, while Ehammer (2.06m) and Owens Delerme (2.00m) stayed within reach. After four events, Garland led with 3724, followed by Skotheim (3676) and Ehammer (3671). Owens Delerme sat fourth with 3654. Olympic and world bronze medallist Lindon Victor did not compete in the high jump.

The 400 metres brought fireworks, with Owens Delerme smashing the meeting record in 46.20, bettering Ash Moloney’s 2023 mark (46.46). Harrison Williams matched his seasonal best of 46.46 to beat Skotheim (47.47) and Neugebauer (47.84). Ehammer ran a PB of 47.18 behind Jeff Tesselaar’s 47.13 in the fifth heat.

Owens Delerme closed the day with 4652 points, ahead of Ehammer (4620), Skotheim (4611), Garland (4586), and Neugebauer (4543). Warner stands seventh (4424), followed by Pierce LePage (4315).

Owens Delerme: “The environment was special. I felt the energy from the crowd. It was better than I expected.”

Women’s Heptathlon:

Erin Marsh and Michelle Atherley of the USA both ran 12.93 in the 100m hurdles. Marsh narrowly won heat four, edging GB’s Abigail Pawlett by 0.01. Sienna McDonald also dipped under 13 seconds with 12.97.

Atherley, third in last year’s Götzis meet, won heat five in 12.93 ahead of Switzerland’s Annik Kälin (13.03) and defending champion Anna Hall, who ran her best time since the 2023 World Championships.

Hall soared to 1.95m in the high jump on her third try, matching her PB and recording the third-best jump ever at the meet. Only Nafissatou Thiam (2.01m) and Tia Hellebaut (1.97m) have jumped higher at Mösle Stadium. Hall was the only woman to clear 1.89m, progressing through 1.92m to her PB-equaling height.

New Zealand’s Maddie Wilson and Dutch silver medallist Sofie Dokter cleared 1.86m. Hall took the lead with 2267 points, 183 ahead of Dokter (2104). Timara Chapman cleared 1.83m for 2063, with Kälin at 2058 (1.77m).

Hall extended her lead in the shot put with a PB of 14.86m, bringing her total to 3119—38 points ahead of her pace during her 6988-point PB performance in Götzis last year.

Dokter threw 14.17m to stay second (2909), while Kälin moved into third with a 13.69m throw (2831).

In the 200 metres, Pawlett clocked a PB of 23.06 to top the charts and move into fourth place with 3867 points. Hall ran 23.37—her fastest since 2023—to close the day with 4161 points, just 11 points off her personal best pace.

Dokter clocked 23.46 to stay second (3942), with Kälin running 23.42 to remain third (3868).

Anna Hall: “Götzis is a magic place. When I have fun, I do my best. My speed is back. The technical events were good. I am happy with my progress. The result in the 100m hurdles gave me confidence.”