Home favourite Patrizia Van Der Weken closed out the CMCM Indoor Meeting, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze meeting, in Luxembourg in style on Sunday (21) evening.
Having already improved her recently set national record from 7.19 to 7.11 in the 60m heats, Van Der Weken broke new ground again in the final, winning in a massive national record and early season world leading time of 7.09.
Last season, only three European athletes ran faster and this performance further suggests Van der Weken could become the first athlete from Luxembourg to break the 11 second-barrier in the 100m this summer. The 24-year-old came close last year, reducing her national record to 11.02.
Van der Weken also left a good field in her wake. France’s Orlann Oliere was second in 7.17 with Poland’s Krystsina Tsimanouskaya third, equalling her lifetime best of 7.21.
Polish athletes were also in excellent form in the seldom contested indoor 200m. Albert Komanski won in 20.77, leading a Polish one-two from double European U20 champion Marek Zakrzewski who broke the European indoor U20 record in second in 20.80.
Bertemes approaches 22 metres in the shot put
Another long-time standard bearer of Luxembourger athletics, Bob Bertemes also produced a performance of the highest vintage at home in the shot put.
Having already won the competition with 21.20m, Bertemes produced a bit of sixth round magic with a put which was measured at 21.71m - a world leading performance at this early juncture of the season.
This was also the joint fourth longest mark of Bertemes’ career whose outright national record stands at 22.22m from 2019.
Other highlights included 2021 European indoor champion Angelica Moser from Switzerland vaulting 4.60m in the pole vault and Greece's Antonios Merlos clearing 2.21m in the high jump to defeat a field which included European U20 champion Melwin Lycke Holm from Sweden and European indoor champion Douwe Amels from the Netherlands who both cleared 2.18m to finish third and fifth respectively on countback.
There were also two fast 1500m races on the programme. Another European indoor champion from 2021, Belgium’s Elise Vanderelst won the women’s 1500m in 4:07.03 and Portugal’s Isaac Nader won the men’s 1500m in 3:37.80.
Full results here.
Manasova ties Czech 60m record in Jablonec
Only 20, Karolina Manasova equalled the Czech 60m record on home soil at the Jablonec Indoor Meeting, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze meeting, on Saturday (20) evening.
Manasova clocked 7.23 to equal the mark which has been held by Klara Seidlova since 2018. Slovakia’s Monika Weigertova was second in a lifetime best of 7.30.
In the men’s 60m, Türkiye’s Kayhan Ozer took the victory in 6.63 but only just ahead of Czechia’s Zdenek Stromsik (6.64) with former world and European indoor champion Richard Kilty third in 6.65.
Elsewhere, European outdoor bronze medallist and Czech favourite Tomas Stanek finished a close second in the shot put to Egypt’s Hamza Mohamed - 20.91m to 20.83m.
Elsewhere around Europe…
European U23 400m silver medallist Attila Molnar opened his season by taking ownership of the Hungarian indoor 400m record with 46.22 in Nyiregyhaza on Saturday (20).
Combined eventer turned sprinter Henriette Jeager, who also won silver in the women’s 400m at the European Athletics U23 Championships last year, also rewrote the record books with 22.99 for 200m in Baerum on Saturday (20).
Lorenzo Simonelli, who won silver in the 110m hurdles at the European Athletics U23 Championships last summer, made a big improvement in the 60m in Ancona on Saturday (20), clocking 6.59 in the 60m to finish second behind Cuba’s Yenns Reynold Fernandez in 6.52.
European decathlon silver medallist Simon Ehammer took two victories at the Stadtwerk-Hallenmeeting, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Challenger event, in St. Gallen. He leapt put to 7.81m in the long jump and clocked 7.87 in the 60m hurdles.
Steven Mills for European Athletics