Angelina Topic’s bid for a never-been-done-before high jump/long jump double got off to an auspicious start on the first morning session of the Jerusalem 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships.
Conserving energy on a brutally hot morning in the Givat Ram Stadium, Topic sealed her berth in the high jump final in an economical manner courtesy of two first-time clearances at 1.80m and 1.83m.
“The qualification went really great and I am feeling better than ever. The conditions were perfect for us because we started very early. I managed to show two good jumps,” said Topic.
Topic returns to the stadium where she won the high jump title at the European Athletics U18 Championships last summer but the rising Serbian star has set herself an even tougher assignment this year by adding a second event to her schedule.
“But I have completed only one-quarter of my mission yet as I still have the long jump qualification and then the finals. So I need to get some rest in the hotel now. The priority now is the high jump as it is my main event but when I finish this, I have one more day to focus on the long jump,” said Topic.
If Topic was to pull off the double, she would become the first athlete - male or female - to win both events in the history of the European Athletics U20 Championships, an event which dates back to 1970.
Topic will be joined in the high jump final by the likes of Belgium’s Merel Maes, Estonia’s Elisabeth Pihela and Germany’s Johanna Goring, all of whom have also cleared 1.90m or higher this season.
By contrast, Mattia Furlani is focusing solely on the long jump this season and the precocious Italian, who swept the long jump and high jump titles at the European Athletics U18 Championships last summer, led the way in qualifying with 8.07m.
“The 8.07m felt good and like an easy jump. I did not push it too much so I was even a bit surprised. I want to repeat such a jump in the final and to try for even more,” said Furlani.
Another versatile operator Bozhidar Saraboyukov from Bulgaria also surpassed the automatic qualifying line of 7.75m with his first attempt of 7.87m. Saraboyukov won silver in the high jump at the World Athletics U20 Championships last summer and will also contest the triple jump at these championships.
Koscak stamps her authority on the heptathlon
The youngest athlete in the field Jana Koscak from Croatia tops the heptathlon standings after two events.
And while she was slightly down on her performances from the Gotzis Hypo-Meeting where she set the world U18 best of 6293 points, Koscak still posted the fastest time in the 100m hurdles (13.37) and topped the high jump with a 1.86m clearance.
Ahead of this evening’s shot put, Koscak - who has been focusing on improving this event in training in the build-up to the championships - leads the standings with 2123 points ahead of Germany’s Sandrina Sprengel (2030 points) and Estonia’s Liisa-Maria Lusti (1973 points).
Reigning champion Nick Griggs from Ireland had a safe passage through the 3000m heats and his path to his second gold medal has been made somewhat easier with Dutch super-talent Niels Laros opting to contest the 1500m heats this evening instead.
Griggs finished second in the first heat of the 3000m in 8:32.22, just 0.02 behind Norway’s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen, the double silver medallist behind Laros at last year’s European Athletics U18 Championships.
On how he has been preparing for the conditions, Griggs said: “I've been doing some heat training - every run I’ve been putting on a coat, tights, a half-zip, and then going on into the sauna for half an hour. It wasn’t fun but I got it done.”
Last year’s European U18 hammer champion Valentina Savva also progressed comfortably into the women’s hammer final. She exceeded the automatic qualifying mark of 63.50m with her first throw of the competition, reaching out to 64.48m.
British team captain Charlie Carvell set a lifetime best of 45.92 to qualify fastest for the men’s 400m final and pre-event favourite Lurdes Gloria Manuel led the women’s 400m heats with 53.15.
Steven Mills for European Athletics