Big throws from Spotakova and Heidler in Berlin

Germany's Betty Heilder won the hammer at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin with a massive throw of 77.40m on Sunday. (Picture Alliance)

Czech javelin thrower Barbora Spotakova and Germany hammer star Betty Heidler, both world record holders in their respective events, were among six European winners at the 90th anniversary celebration of the ISTAF meeting, one of the world’s oldest athletics meetings, in Berlin on Sunday.

Spotakova, who had to settle for second at the 2011 World Championships just over a week ago, came out on top with a second round throw of 67.14m to finish over two metres in front of her nearest rival and despite some pain from her Achilles tendons.

Germany’s Christina Obergföll, arguably the year’s most consistent thrower, took second with her penultimate effort of 64.95m while Russia’s world champion Mariya Abakumova had to settle for third with a relatively modest 63.57m.

“I guess Christina and Mariya were just tired, but it is always a surprise to win against them. This is my last competition of the season, so it’s a super way to finish,” said Spotakova, whose 65.20m throw in the third round would also have been good enough to win.

Heidler was started superbly, opening with 76.99m in the first round and then followed it up with a 77.40m in the next round, a distance only she has beaten this season.

“Slowly I’m feeling better after the disappointment in Daegu. But the disappointment is still there and the silver medal still hurts,” said Heidler, the 2007 world champion who took a silver medal for the second successive World Championships in Daegu.

The woman who beat her there, Russia’s Tatyana Lysenko, found that the roles were reversed in the German capital and was second this time with 74.67m, a distance she threw in both the fourth and fifth rounds.

Germany’s 2011 World Championships discus gold medallist Robert Harting knows Berlin’s Olympic stadium well as he lives in the city and he won his 13th straight competition this year to remain unbeaten in 2011.

His best throw of 67.22m came in the first round and for good measure he launched the discus out to 66.41m in the fifth round.

“I’m glad my winning streak continued despite the problems I’m still having with my knee. However, I wanted to compete here as this meeting is the heartbeat of German athletics. This meeting is especially important for Berlin so today I wasn’t just flying the German flag, but the colours of my club SC Berlin,” commented Harting.

“This was a good field and I wasn’t expecting to reach 67 metres but it looked like my opponents had technical problems,” he added.

Among those vanquished were Estonia’s 2008 Olympic Games champion Gerd Kanter, who was second with 66.16m while his predecessor in 2000 and 2004, Lithuania’s evergreen Virgilijus Alekna, was third with 65.08m.

The third German winner on home soil on Sunday was the 2010 European Athletics Championships pole vaulter silver medallist Silke Spiegelburg, who continues to bounce back after her disappointing ninth place in Daegu, who was the only woman in a high quality field to clear at 4.71m.

She then unsuccessfully attempted a new German record of 4.81m in what was her last competition of the season.

“After the tiring trip to Daegu, I never thought I’d have the energy to compete well but the crowd here were fantastic, so noisy I couldn’t here the announcer properly, they really motivated me,” said Spiegelburg.

There were also two Russian successes in Berlin.

Anastasiya Kapachinskaya, who won her second consecutive World Championships 400m bronze medal in Daegu hung onto her lead down the home straight to cross the line in 50.75.

“It was a big surprise for me to win today, it seems I’ve been tired since the World Championships,” commented Kapachinskaya.

Alexandr Menkov waited until the fifth round to get his first eight-metre jump but then flew out to 8.15m to beat the American world champion Dwight Phillips, who could only manage 8.05m on this occasion.

The top international result was Jamaica’s Yohan Blake clocking 9.82 in the 100m, the event at which he became the surprise world champion two weeks ago.