Leonardo Fabbri had already surpassed the 21 metre-line both indoors and outdoors this season prior to Tuesday (11) night but he produced the most notable result of his career thus far in taking victory at the Sparet GP in Stockholm, a European Athletics Indoor Classic Permit Meeting.
The European U23 silver medallist took the lead in the first round with 20.48m and the 22-year-old built on this in the second round, launching the 7.26kg implement out to an outright lifetime best of 21.59m. In doing so, Fabbri eclipsed Alessandro Andrei’s 33-year-old Italian indoor record by five centimetres - a performance which gives Fabbri the belief he will be a factor in the major outdoor championships this summer.
“This 21.59m gives me the feeling of being able to reach the final at the Tokyo Games and of being able to challenge at the European Championships in Paris. I owe everything to [my coach] Paolo Dal Soglio: it is thanks to him, he has drawn the line to reach the top,” Fabbri told FIDAL after the competition.
Fabbri amassed six valid throws and he also surpassed the 21 metre-line with his third throw of 21.09m. He has three more competitions planned this indoor season: Sabadell on 19 February, Madrid on 21 February and the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona on 23 February.
Norway's Marcus Thomsen, who has also surpassed his country's national indoor record this winter, finished second to Fabbri last night with 20.55m.
There was also a home victory in the women’s shot put for Fanny Roos. Twelve months after highlighting the inaugural edition of this meeting with a national indoor record of 18.33m, Roos surpassed the 18 metre-line again with a second round season’s best of 18.19m.
Angelica Bengtsson was another popular winner on home soil last night, clearing 4.63m in the pole vault before three unsuccessful attempts at a season’s best of 4.68m. In-form Greek Eleni-Klaudia Polak was second with 4.53m.
It was also a good night for the Serbian contingent competing in the Swedish capital. Former European U20 champion Milica Gardasevic won the long jump with 6.40m and Aleksa Kijanovic improved his Serbian record to 6.67 in the 60m, outleaning Brit Sam Gordon (6.67) and European U23 100m champion Henrik Larsson (6.68) for the victory in the last track event of the programme.
Full results here.
Bukowiecki returns to winning form in the shot put in Lodz
The thrower who beat Fabbri to the European U23 shot put title in Gavle last year, Konrad Bukowiecki recaptured some of his best form at the Orlen Cup in Lodz, a European Athletics Indoor Premium Permit Meeting, on Tuesday (11) evening.
After finishing eighth at the Copernicus Cup in Torun on Saturday night, Bukowiecki might have not amassed his best series but his third round throw of 21.54m - which was followed by three successive no throws - handsomely sufficed for a popular victory on home soil.
Bukowiecki, who holds the European lead with 21.88m, was the only thrower to breach the 21 metre-line. European indoor and outdoor champion Michal Haratyk was second with 20.95m and Germany’s David Storl opened his season with 20.03m to finish fifth.
Another highlight from a domestic standpoint was the women's 60m hurdles, the concluding event on the programme. The final produced a home victory for Klaudia Siciarz in 8.03 but her 18-year-old teammate Pia Skrzyszowska pushed her right to the line. After setting a lifetime best of 8.10 in the heat, Skrzyszowska improved to 8.05 in the final to move to equal seventh on the world indoor all-time U20 list.
Hungary's Valdo Szucs chipped his lifetime best down to 7.57 to win the men's 60m hurdles final from in-form Pole Damian Czykier in 7.58 and former world indoor champion Kamila Licwinko cleared 1.93m to win the high jump on home soil. Fresh from breaking the American indoor record with 6.01m, Sam Kendricks from the United States cleared 5.80m to win the pole vault by two clear heights from Pawel Wojciechowski at 5.60m.
Full results here.