18th May 2013 08:44
The 20-year-old University of Georgia student put together a world-leading personal best total of 8223 points, including six individual event bests, at the Towns Invitational meeting in Athens, Georgia, on 11-12 April. The performance lifted his personal best by a staggering 675 points.
It is with a fair degree of confidence to say that no athlete is likely to make such inroads into their personal best score in multi-eventing this year.
Stublic also made a huge breakthrough when she won at the Zurich Marathon in a Croatian national record of 2:25:44, taking more than five minutes off her own previous record of 2:30:46.
The diminutive 28-year-old Stublic, just 1.58m tall, produced the second fastest time by a European this year after giving notice that she was in great shape when finishing third in the New York City Half Marathon in another national record of 69:18 in March.
The 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships shot put bronze medallist Ladislav Prasil of the Czech Republic reached an impressive European-leading personal best of 21.47m in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on 20 April and that performance fetched him the second spot on the men's poll.
The two-time European Athletics Championships 20km bronze medallist Joao Vieira of Portugal won over the same distance at the European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting in his home town of Rio Maior, Portugal, finishing in 1:21:08 on 7 April and was voted third.
In the women's poll, the 2012 Olympic Games 20km gold medallist Yelena Lashmanova of Russia, who won the women's 20km walk at the European Athletics Race Walking Permit Meeting in Rio Maior, Portugal, crossing the line in 1:28:19 on 6 April had to contend with the second spot. Despite getting the highest number of media votes, thin public support did not help her cause.
Zuzana Hejnová of the Czech Republic ran a European-leading time of 54.41 when winning at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, on 27 April and the London 2012 bronze medallist was voted third.
The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe. European Athletics names a male and female winner each month. No athlete who has previously served a two-year doping ban can be nominated for the European Athlete of the Month.