ZÜRICH, SWITZERLAND, September 08 — Among jumping and throwing events the HJ & SP were contested downtown on the first day of the Weltklasse meet. Here are our reports on the other 5 men’s field events:
Men’s Pole Vault: Familiar Territory For Mondo
This vault game continues to be rather formulaic for Mondo Duplantis: take only a handful of jumps, almost all of them makes and finish off the day with a record of some sorts with a clearance somewhere north of 6m (19-8¼).
The 22-year-old Swede checked all the boxes here, clearing 18-5¼ (5.62) and 19-¾ (5.81) to be in the lead when the bar was raised to the fifth setting of the day, 19-2¾ (5.86). He passed, as did Chris Nilsen and Renaud Lavillenie, leaving Sondre Guttormsen as the only one to essay the height, which he cleared on third try to equal the Norwegian Record.
At 19-4¾ (5.91), another first-try clearance for Mondo while the others went out, the bar next moving up to a meet record 19-11 (6.07). After an initial miss Mondo had a textbook clearance and called it a day.
Reflecting on a year which saw him top 6m (19-8¼) in no fewer than 15 meets, he said, “I had a lot of great competitions, but I think being able to jump 6m so many times, it shows this is the kind of jumper that I am right now. In any competition, on any given day, I should think I should be able to jump 6m.”
Meanwhile, 6m remains largely a dream for the rest of the planet’s vaulters. Altogether they put up 3 such marks in ’22, all by Chris Nilsen (2 indoors, 1 out).
Results
1. Mondo Duplantis (Swe) 19-11 (6.07) (MR) (18-5¼, 19-¾, 19-4¾, 19-11 [2]) (5.62, 5.81, 5.91, 6.07 [2]); 2. Sondre Guttormsen (Nor) 19-2¾ (5.86) =NR; 3. Chris Nilsen (US) 19-¾ (5.81); 4. Renaud Lavillenie (Fra) 19-¾; 5. Ben Broeders (Bel) 18-9¼ (5.72); 6. Thiago Braz (Bra) 18-9¼; 7. Dominik Alberto (Swi) 17-9¼ (5.42).
Men’s Long Jump: Tentóglou Finds The Board
Miltiádis Tentóglou really wanted this one. After winning silver in Eugene followed by European gold, a DL title would tie the perfect knot on his season. Only it took him a while to find his steps.
He fouled his first jump, and Maykel Massó led round 1 with his 26-5 (8.05). In the next round, the Cuban was passed by both by Marquis Dendy (26-6¼/8.08) and Tentóglou (26-8½/8.14). But the 24-year-old Greek was not happy with his next two efforts, 26-1½ (7.96) and 26-4¼ (8.03). In round 4, the American leaped 26-9¼ (8.16) to edge back into the lead.
Finally, in the fifth stanza, Tentóglou hit the board right, landing at 27-4 (8.33). Dendy, for his final jump, responded with an improvement to 26-10 (8.18). That left Tentóglou the champion. He put a point on it with his final effort of 27-7½ (8.42).
“I am just happy to end the season like that,” he said. “I started the competition not very strong. My plan was just to do like three jumps and finish but it did not go like that. So I continued slowly and every jump was better and better. And my last two jumps were very good so I am pleased.”
Results
1. Miltiádis Tentóglou (Gre) 27-7½ (8.42) (f, 26-8½, 26-1½, 26-4¼, 27-4, 27-7½) (f, 8.14, 7.96, 8.03, 8.33, 8.42); 2. Marquis Dendy (US) 26-10 (8.18) (f, 26-6¼, 25-8¾, 26-9¼, f, 26-10) (f, 8.08, 7.84, 8.16, f, 8.18); 3. Maykel D. Massó (Cub) 26-5 (8.05); 4. Thobias Montler (Swe) 26-3½ (8.01); 5. Simon Ehammer (Swi) 26-¼ (7.93); 6. Emiliano Lasa (Uru) 25-¾ (7.64).
Men’s Triple Jump: The Cuban Influence
Living and training in Italy, with plans to compete for that nation in the future. Andy Díaz missed the World Championships. He more than made up for it here, capturing the Diamond trophy with a lifetime best 58-1 (17.70) in round 1.
The 26-year-old led a not-quite-Cuban sweep, topping Cuban Recordholder Pedro Pichardo — competing for Portugal for the last 5 years — as well as Jordan Alejandro Díaz in 3rd.
Pichardo, the world champion as well as the defender, also hit his best distance in the first round, reaching 57-10¼ (17.63). Neither man had much more in the tank. Díaz passed, fouled twice, and passed again before reaching a modest 54-0 (16.46) on his last. Pichardo’s next best jump came in round 2, a 54-8¾ (16.88).
Third-placer Jordan Díaz only nailed two fair jumps before calling it quits after four attempts, but they were good ones: 57-7 (17.55) and 57-9 (17.60). That left Eugene silver medalist Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burundi in 4th at 57-2¼ (17.43).
Said the victor, “I came here really prepared to compete, and I was lucky enough to have the right conditions and to be in a great shape to jump a personal best. This crowd is my right type of crowd.”
Results
1. Andy Díaz (Cub) 58-1 (17.70) PR (58-1, p, f, f, p, 54-0) (17.70, p, f, f, p, 16.46); 2. Pedro Pablo Pichardo (Por) 57-10¼ (17.63) (57-10¼, 55-4¾, 55-3½, p, f, 46-7½) (17.63, 16.88, 16.85, p, f, 14.21); 3. Jordan Alejandro Díaz (Spa) 57-9 (17.60) (f, 57-7, 57-9, f, p, p) (f, 17.55, 17.60, f, p, p); 4. Hugues Fabrice Zango (Bur) 57-2¼ (17.43); 5. Almir dos Santos (Bra) 56-1¼ (17.10); 6. Lázaro Martínez (Cub) 54-11½ (16.75).
Men’s Discus: Čeh Goes 5 For 5
A win would have given Daniel Ståhl a record-equaling third straight Diamond Trophy, but the Swedish star is having an off-year by his standards.
Kristjan Čeh, on the other hand, continued to have the year of his life. The 23-year-old Slovenian added a win here to previous triumphs in Birmingham, Rabat, Rome and Stockholm for a rare DL sweep.
The world champ only briefly trailed here. His modest 211-4 (64.42) put him in the lead after the first round but when he stepped into the ring for his second effort he found himself behind the 213-6 (65.08) of Lithuania’s Andrius Gudžius. He quickly trumped that with a 219-1 (66.79) and nobody else would throw as far all day, although Čeh himself would improve to 220-2 (67.10) on the competition’s final throw.
The battle for 2nd was decided in the fifth round, where Gudžius improved to 214-2 (65.28) but ended up behind the 215-7 (65.70) for Austria’s Lukas Weißhaidinger.
Said the winner, “This is my first Diamond League victory, so I am very pleased about it. But I am not really happy about my throws because I wanted a 70m [229-8] throw tonight. I could not figure it out and the energy was on and off. But I won and that is the most important. I must say it was a long season and I am tired already. Two more competitions and I am done.”
Results
1. Kristjan Čeh (Slo) 220-2 (67.10) (211-4, 219-1, 208-8, f, 219-0, 220-2) (64.42, 66.79, 63.61, f, 66.75, 67.10); 2. Lukas Weißhaidinger (Aut) 215-7 (65.70); 3. Andrius Gudžius (Lit) 214-2 (65.28); 4. Sam Mattis (US) 214-0 (65.24); 5. Daniel Ståhl (Swe) 213-9 (65.16); 6. Matt Denny (Aus) 212-7 (64.81).
Men’s Javelin: Oly Champ Chopra For The Win
In the absence of world champion Anderson Peters, whose season was cut short after he was assaulted, Eugene runner-up Neeraj Chopra hoped to reassert his primacy in the event.
The Olympic gold medalist fouled his first attempt, and the early lead went to Eugene bronze winner Jakub Vadlejch with a round 1 toss of 276-1 (84.15). In the next stanza, American Curtis Thompson moved to 2nd with his 269-4 (82.10). Then Chopra showed his stuff, sticking the spear at 290-2 (88.44). That pretty much ended the suspense.
Julian Weber threw 274-8 (83.73) in round 3 to take over the third spot, and Vadlejch improved to 285-3 (86.94) in round 4.In all, three of Chopra’s throws were better than Vadlejch’s best.
Said Chopra, who had a minor injury after Eugene, “I expected 90m [295-3] from me today. But it is OK, I have the Diamond Trophy and this was the most important thing for me. I need some rest, 2–3 weeks and I start some rehab and then some training for next year.”
Results
1. Neeraj Chopra (Ind) 290-2 (88.44) (f, 290-2, 288-8, 282-6, 285-5, 274-3) (f, 88.44, 88.00, 86.11, 87.00, 83.60); 2. Jakub Vadlejch (CzR) 285-3 (86.94); 3. Julian Weber (Ger) 274-8 (83.73); 4. Curtis Thompson (US) 269-4 (82.10); 5. Patriks Gailums (Lat) 263-11 (80.44); 6. Leandro Ramos (Por) 236-1 (71.96). ◻︎