Only 18, Gyorgy Herczeg made use of the excellent wind conditions at the Raiffeisen Austrian Open Eisenstadt 2023, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, on Wednesday (26), to win the men's javelin with a European U20 record of 84.98m.
The massive throw beat the previous mark of 84.69m by Latvia’s Zigismunds Sirmais which had stood since 2011. It was also a Hungarian record and the second furthest ever by an U20 athlete, bettered only by soon-to-be Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra's 86.48m from the 2016 World U20 Championships.
With the European Athletics U20 Championships in Jerusalem fast approaching, Herczeg has ownership of the four longest throws in Europe in his age-group and a cushion of more than seven metres over his closest rival on paper Max Dehning from Germany with 77.20m.
Another young Hungarian athlete, Boglarka Takacs – fresh from her double silver in the Espoo 2023 European Athletics U23 Championships – also won in windy conditions at the Leichtathletikarena, just edging it ahead of Germany’s Rebekka Haase, with both athletes given the same time of 11.07 (+4.3m/s).
David Morgan-Harrison of Great Britain & Northern Ireland won the men’s 100m in 10.10 (+2.9m/s) and also clocked 10.05 (+4.3m/s) in the heats, with Austria’s Markus Fuchs second in 10.14, while another Briton Elliot Jones ran a windy 10.09 (+3.8m/s) in the heats.
Meanwhile, former European U23 champion Petra Banhidi-Farkas leaped to 6.43m (+2.2m/s) in the women's long jump and in the pre-programme 19-year-old Austrian Enzo Diessl clocked 13.14 (+3.1m/s) in the U20 110m hurdles.
Full results here.