CHORZÓW, POLAND, September 06—Johannes Vetter came to the Skolimowska Memorial very much in charge of the yearly javelin list, owning the year’s 5 farthest throws, topped by a 300-2 (91.49) heave. But none of that prepared us for his huge WR-scaring explosion of 320-9 (97.76) in the third round at the Polish stop on WA’s Continental Tour Gold schedule. It was the second-longest throw in history (see sidebar).
it was really close to a perfect moment,” said the 27-year-old German. “You can feel it in your body when you have a good throw. Mostly you feel the whole energy behind it, from your whole body. From the right toe to the chest to the hands. In the javelin you need your whole body. But it’s really hard to explain: you feel it for less than a second, but then you realize that it was a huge throw.”
He had opened with workmanlike efforts of 273-6 (83.77) and 283-6 (86.41). But he then put everything together. His right elbow in a compression sleeve, he sped down the runway and finished off with a dive that brought both his right hand and knee within a foot of the line.
He never took his eyes off his yellow spear as it reached a very high point in its trajectory, then sent the judges scurrying backwards as it sailed over their heads. The ’17 world champion repeatedly roared with delight as he awaited the measure, which came up just 28 inches (74cm) shy of Jan Železný’s WR.
Vetter’s fine throwing wasn’t over, though, as his next effort taped out as the No. 6 performance ever, 311-2 (94.84). He finished his day with heaves of 295-1 (89.95) and 286-4 (87.28) for an average of 295-3 (90.00), the best series ever. Yes, Železný averaged 300-10 (91.69) in his WR, but the Czech had only a 5-throw collection: Vetter’s 5 best here averaged an amazing 305-11 (93.25).
Speaking of a brilliant series, Ryan Crouser also cranked one out, his 5 legal marks (73-11/22.53, 74-1½/22.59, 74-5¾/22.70, 73-10¾/22.52, foul, 73-6¾/22.42) averaging 73-11¾ (22.55). That’s just 2cm less than the 27-year-old American averaged in his big series at Drake.
This was also only the third time somebody has had 4 throws over 22.50 (73-10) in a series, with his last throw missing by just 8cm being the first with 5. With the remarkable consistency that Crouser is throwing, he remains a threat to the World Record every time he steps into the ring.
Both Vetter and Crouser are expected to throw again on Tuesday, Vetter in Dessau, Germany, and Crouser at the next CT Gold stop in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
The best mark on the track came from Britain’s Laura Muir, who broke 4:00 for the second meet in a row, needing most of her 3:58.24 to edge local favorite Sofia Ennaoui’s PR 3:59.70 in the 1500. It was the Pole’s first sub-4:00 ever.
CHORZÓW MEN’S RESULTS
Skolimowska Memorial; Chorzów, Poland, September 06—
400: 1. Karol Zalewski (Pol) 45.74; 2. Jochem Dobber (Neth) 45.78; 3. Tony van Diepen (Neth) 45.84; 4. Rabah Yousif (GB) 46.05.
800: 1. Ferguson Cheruiyot (Ken) 1:45.30; 2. Wesley Vazquez (PR) 1:45.47; 3. Guy Learmonth (GB) 1:45.57; 4. Adam Kszczot (Pol) 1:45.64; 5. Marcin Lewandowski (Pol) 1:45.77; 6. Alvaro de Arriba (Spa) 1:45.93; 7. Mateusz Borkowski (Pol) 1:46.28; 8. Michal Rozmys (Pol) 1:46.31; 9. Andrés Arroyo (PR) 1:46.94.
Field Events
PV: 1. Piotr Lisek (Pol) 19-1 (5.82); 2. Sam Kendricks (US) 18-9¼ (5.72); 3. Renaud Lavillenie (Fra) 18-5¼ (5.62); 4. Paweł Wojciechowski (Pol) 18-1¼ (5.52); 5. Robert Sobera (Pol) 17-5½ (5.32);… nh—Raphael Holzdeppe (Ger).
SP: 1. Ryan Crouser (US) 74-5¾ (22.70) (x, =17 W; x, =10 A) (73-11, 74-1½, 74-5¾, 73-10¾, f, 73-6¾) (22.53, 22.59, 22.70, 22.52, f, 22.42) (average—73-11¾/22.55);
2. Michał Haratyk (Pol) 71-5½ (21.78); 3. Leonardo Fabbri (Ita) 68-9¼ (20.96); 4. Konrad Bukowiecki (Pol) 68-6 (20.88); 5. David Storl (Ger) 68-4¼ (20.83); 6. Nick Ponzio (US) 67-8¼ (20.63); 7. Jakub Szyszkowski (Pol) 67-0 (20.42).
DT: 1. Daniel Ståhl (Swe) 220-9 (67.28); 2. Kristjan Ceh (Slo) 217-1 (66.16); 3. Andrius Gudžius (Lit) 211-5 (64.45); 4. Bartłomiej Stój (Pol) 209-9 (63.94); 5. Robert Urbanek (Pol) 209-5 (63.83); 6. Piotr Małachowski (Pol) 208-1 (63.42).
HT: 1. Paweł Fajdek (Pol) 261-10 (79.81) (f, 261-10, f, f, f, f) (f, 79.81, f, f, f, f); 2. Wojciech Nowicki (Pol) 258-9 (78.88) (248-7, f, 252-6, 258-9, 251-0, f) (75.78, f, 76.96, 78.88, 76.51, f); 3. Hrístos Frantzeskákis (Gre) 251-11 (76.78) PR; 4. Myhaylo Kokhan (Ukr) 248-5 (75.73).
JT: 1. Johannes Vetter (Ger) 320-9 (97.76) NR (2, 2 W) (274-10, 283-6, 320-9, 311-2 [x, 6 W], 295-1, 286-4) (83.77, 86.41, 97.76, 94.84, 89.95, 87.28);
2. Marcin Krukowski (Pol) 277-7 (84.62).
CHORZÓW WOMEN’S RESULTS
100(-0.2): 1. Dafne Schippers (Neth) 11.29; 2. Ewa Swoboda (Pol) 11.34; 3. Ajla Del Ponte (Swi) 11.35.
400: 1. Justyna Święty-Ersetic (Pol) 51.33; 2. Lieke Klaver (Neth) 51.61; 3. Iga Baumgart-Witan (Pol) 52.04; 4. Malgorzata Holub-Kowalik (Pol) 52.19; 5. Ketaryna Klymyuk (Ukr) 52.36; 6. Patrycja Wyciszkiewicz (Pol) 52.57.
1500: 1. Laura Muir (GB) 3:58.24; 2. Sofia Ennaoui (Pol) 3:59.70 PR; 3. Claudia Bobocea (Rom) 4:01.31 PR; 4. Lemlem Hailu (Eth) 4:04.75; 5. Eilish McColgan (GB) 4:06.35; 6. Klaudia Kazimierska (Pol) 4:07.47 PR; 7. Simona Vrzalova (CzR) 4:07.89; 8. Habitam Alemu (Eth) 4:08.23; 9. Renata Plis (Pol) 4:10.27.
100H(-0.1): 1. Elvira Herman (Blr) 12.87; 2. Nadine Visser (Neth) 12.95; 3. Pia Skrzyszowska (Pol) 13.19 PR.
Field Events
HJ: 1. Yuliya Levchenko (Ukr) 6-3½ (1.92); 2. Iryna Herashchenko (Ukr) 6-2¼ (1.89); 3. Levern Spencer (StL) 6-¾ (1.85); 4. tie, Oksana Okuneva (Ukr) & Kamila Licwinko (Pol) 6-¾; 6. Lija Apostolovski (Slo) 6-¾ (1.85).
SP: 1. Auriole Dongmo (Por) 60-1¾ (18.33); 2. Marketa Cervenkova (CzR) 60-1¼ (18.32) PR: 3. Aliona Dubitskaya (Blr) 18.00; 4. Paulina Guba (Pol) 58-11¼ (17.96).
HT: 1. Alexandra Tavernier (Fra) 243-2 (74.12); 2. Malwina Kopron (Pol) 237-5 (72.37); 3. Katarzyna Furmanek (Pol) 236-2 (71.99); 4. Joanna Fiodorow (Pol) 218-11 (66.74).
JT: 1. Maria Andrejczyk (Pol) 215-7 (65.70); 2. Līna Mūze (Lat) 207-3 (63.19); 3. Sara Kolak (Cro) 200-11 (61.25).