European champion Johannes Erm closed off an excellent season by winning the decathlon at the Decastar meeting in Talence, France on 14-15 September.
The Estonian athlete, who won gold at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships and bronze in the heptathlon at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, accumulated the second best score of his career with 8589, only bettered by the 8764 that secured European gold in June.
He found himself in a close tussle with Roma 2024 silver medallist Sander Skotheim, who took silver at Roma 2024. The Norwegian led overnight with 4444, 112 clear of Erm, aided by some spring heeled leaps, landing 7.70m in the long jump and clearing 2.10m in the high jump.
On day two of what was a World Athletics Combined Event Continental Tour Gold meeting, Erm cleared a personal best 5.37m in the pole vault which separated him from the pack. No other athlete cleared five metres. Skotheim got over 4.77m, which was some relief having no heighted at the Paris Olympics to lose out on a likely medal.
But Erm was now virtually out of reach and sealed the win with a 60.47m javelin throw and 4:33:04 in the 1500m. Skotheim placed second with 8517 and Dutch European U23 silver medallist Sven Roosen placed third on 8293.
In the heptathlon, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands was second with 6273 points in a competition won by Colombia’s Martha Araujo in a South American record of 6429 points. USA’s Michelle Atherley was third on 6267.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics