Maria Vicente made a welcome return to the combined events at the X-Athletics Meeting in Aubière, a World Athletics Combined Events Tour Silver Meeting, on Sunday (28).
After focusing on the horizontal jumps on her comeback from injury in 2023, Vicente capped her comeback with victory in the French town with a world-leading pentathlon score and Spanish record of 4728 points.
Vicente, who demonstrated her versatility by winning the triple jump title at the European Athletics U23 Championships last summer, began her campaign by equalling her lifetime best of 8.24 in the 60m hurdles which was followed by a 1.76m clearance in the high jump.
Her afternoon continued to gather momentum with an outright lifetime best of 13.84m in the shot put to take the lead, an excellent 6.65m in the long jump which yielded 1056 points and another outright lifetime best of 2:15.50 in the 800m.
An excellent weekend for Italian athletics also continued on Sunday after four national records fell on Saturday. Sveva Gerevini finished second behind Vicente with an Italian record of 4538 points with Hungary’s Szabina Szucs third with a lifetime best of 4491 points.
Two-time world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson from Great Britain pulled out of the competition in the days leading up to the meeting.
Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer took his third heptathlon victory at the X-Athletics Meeting but he was pushed all the way by France’s Makenson Gletty.
A 95-point cushion after the pole vault evaporated to just 12 points after the 1000m with Gletty making up significant ground on Ehammer in the concluding event, gritting out a 2:42.02 clocking to Ehammer’s 2:49.78.
But this was just enough for Ehammer - who produced the best performances across the weekend in the long jump (7.63m), 60m hurdles (7.71) and pole vault (5.21m) - to hold onto the victory, yielding a score of 6242 points with Gletty rewarded with a lifetime best total of 6230 points.
Czechia’s Ondrej Kopecky finished third with 6018 points.
Full results here
Weir launches a world lead of 21.84m in Nordhausen
Reigning European indoor champion Zane Weir launched a world leading mark of 21.84m at the Nordhausen-Indoor Kugelstossen, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Challenger event, on Sunday (28) afternoon.
Less than 24 hours after winning at the ORLEN Cup in Lodz, Weir's teammate and training partner Leonardo Fabbri took the lead in the second round with a season's best of 21.67m but Weir responded in the fourth round with a heave of 21.84m.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's 2013 European 20 champion Mesud Pezer was third with 21.12m, just 10cm short of his recent national indoor record.
In the women's shot put, Germany's 2023 World Athletics Championships finallist Yemisi Ogunleye upset reigning world champion Chase Ealey who now competes under her married name of Jackson.
Ogunleye set an outright lifetime best of 19.57m - 13cm further than she had ever putted befoer - in the first round which withstood the challenge of Jackson, whose best mark was measured at 19.45m in the third round.
Full results here
Elsewhere around Europe…
European indoor 60m hurdles champion Jason Joseph clocked 7.55 in the heats and 7.60 in the final of the Biel/Bienne Athletics Hallenmeeting, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Challenger event, in Magglingen on Saturday (27).
Two-time European U20 800m champion Audrey Werro won the 600m on Sunday (28) in a world leading 1:26.38 ahead of Valentina Rosamilla (1:26.80) who also won the 800m in 2:02.99.
At the Miting Internacional Catalunya, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Challenger meeting, in Sabadell on Saturday (27) there were good performances from Britons Sarah McDonald who won the 1500m ahead of Esther Guerrero - 4:07.65 to 4:07.75 - and Amelia Campbell (Strickler) who won the shot put with 18.03m.
In Apeldoorn on Saturday (27), Robin Van Riel won the 1500m in a Dutch record and early season world lead of 3:36.32. Belgium’s Pieter Sisk won the 800m in 1:46.10 and world 4x400m champion Cathelijn Peeters won the 400m in an indoor lifetime best of 52.59.
At the Flemish Indoor Championships in Gent on Sunday (28), 800m specialist Tibo de Smet won the 400m in 46.59 and world indoor pentathlon champion Noor Vidts won the 60m hurdles in 8.33.
Florentina Iusco achieved an impressive 6.74m/13.85m double in the long jump and triple jump at the Romania Cup in Bucharest.
Steven Mills for European Athletics