Jessica Schilder was not quite in the same superlative form that saw her reach a world-leading mark of 20.31m at the Dutch Indoor Championships on Saturday, which was also a national record, but still managed 19.50m for second place in the Czech town of Nehvizdy on Tuesday (20).
The Dutchwoman struggled with her technique at the outset of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting and opened with two fouls but went out to 19.00m with her third attempt before improving to 19.12m and then 19.50m with her following two attempts.
However, she had to settle for the runner-up spot for the second year in succession at the Hvezdy v Nehvizdech – Stars in Nehvizdy – meeting behind Canada’s Sarah Mitton with the latter winning with a national indoor best and meeting record of 20.08m.
Local star and 2021 European indoor shot put champion Tomas Stanek couldn’t make it four wins in Nehvizdy after his victories in 2020, 2022 and 2023 and had to settle for third place on this occasion despite managing 21.47m, which was two centimetres further than his previous meeting record from 12 months ago.
Victory went to New Zealand’s 2017 world champion Tom Walsh with a meeting record of 21.96m while Nigeria’s Chukwuebuka Enekwechi produced an African indoor best of 21.63m for second place.
Reigning world indoor champion Sang-Hyeok Woo from Korea made it three meeting records in as many events in Nehvidzy when he went clear at 2.30m in the high jump.
Polak wins on countback in Osijek
Greece’s Eleni-Klaoudia Polak lived up to her billing as pre-competition favourite with victory in the women’s pole vault at the Josip Gasparac Memorial in Osijek on Tuesday (20).
But the Greek only won on countback at 4.56m from Hungary’s Hanga Klekner whose 4.56m clearance represented an outright national record, improving the previous mark set by Krisztina Molnar in 2006 by one centimetre.
In fact, Klekner was leading until 4.51m when Polak took the initiative courtesy of a first-time clearance compared to the Hungarian who needed all three attempts.
Ukraine’s Yana Hladiychuk rounded off the podium in third with 4.51m. Last year’s winner Caroline Bonde Holm from Denmark was sixth with 4.31m.
In the men’s competition, world silver medallist Ernest Obiena from the Philippines was the class act of the field, winning on his season’s debut courtesy of a 5.83m clearance, a height which he cleared on his first attempt.
Portugal’s Pedro Buaro continued his excellent early season form with a second-place finish, clearing 5.73m on his third attempt before failing at what would have been an outright Portuguese record of 5.83m, just 10 days after he went over 5.82m on home soil in Pombal.