American excels as Sander Skotheim of Norway wins decathlon in style and Britain’s Abi Pawlett, Sammy Ball and Lewis Church enjoy memorable weekend
Anna Hall went equal No.2 on the world all-time heptathlon rankings and Sander Skotheim continued his winning habit in the decathlon, while British athletes Abi Pawlett, Sammy Ball and Lewis Church impressed at the 50th anniversary of the Götzis Hypomeeting.
Hall scored a meet record of 7032 on Sunday (June 1) to join Carolina Klüft on the world all-time lists. Only Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the world record-holder with 7291, has a better mark.
The American was an impressive winner in the Austrian town in 2023 but underwent knee surgery ahead of the Paris Olympics, where she finished fifth.
“The last heptathlon I did before this broke my heart,” said Hall. “But I feel like this heptathlon healed it.”
Hall began her weekend with 13.19 for 100m hurdles and then took the lead with a 1.95m PB in the high jump. Another PB of 14.86m followed in the shot put before she ended day one with 23.37 in the 200m.
Day two began with a 6.44m long jump then a 46.16m javelin PB before storming home with a 2:01.23 800m PB to break the 9000 points barrier in style.
Sadly double world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson was not in Götzis after having withdrawn a few day before the event with a minor injury. Olympic gold medallist Nafi Thiam wasn’t competing here this year either.
In their absence, Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands stepped up to provide the closest opposition, as she also enjoyed several PBs to score a 6576 PB.
In third, Colombia’s Martha Araujo set a South American record of 6475.
Flying the flag for Britain in Johnson-Thompson’s absence, Pawlett enjoyed the competition of her life as she improved her PB from 6011 to a Welsh record of 6315, moving her from No.18 to No.6 on the UK all-time rankings.
The 22-year-old Trafford athlete began with a Welsh record of 12.94 (-0.6) in the 100m hurdles and followed with a 1.74m high jump – her best mark for five years.
Pawlett then threw the shot 13.46m and ended with the fastest 200m in the competition of 23.06 (0.5).
Day two began with another PB of 6.42m (0.3) in the long jump and a 35.44m javelin before finishing with a big 800m PB of 2:15.43.
Skotheim won European and world indoor pentathlon titles earlier this year and in Götzis he reclaimed the Norwegian decathlon record from Olympic champion Markus Rooth with 8909 points, a mark that also places him equal seventh on the world all-time rankings.
Runner-up was Kyle Garland of the United States with 8626 as Simon Ehammer and Niklas Kaul placed joint third with 8575, with Ehammer setting a Swiss record after having unleashed an 8.34m long jump during his weekend.
Brits Sammy Ball and Lewis Church both broke the 8000 points barrier as they finished 12th and 13th respectively.
Ball, 20, scored 8100 to go No.6 on the UK all-time rankings, while Church, 28, scored 8093 as both men notched up PBs.
Ball’s marks included 10.55 for 100m, 47.29 for 400m and 4:18.12 for 1500m, while Church high jumped 2.03m and clocked 4:21.23 in the 1500m as both Brits finished with a flourish.
Full results here.
