The Pentathlon
The Pentathlon was very watchable. It helped that I had an emotional attachment with an athlete from my city competing. Pentathlon, too is fast moving – three events in the morning and two in the afternoon as opposed to the two day heptathlon. That no athlete is equally good at all the disciplines adds to the cut and thrust. I remember Jess Ennis’s coach described it to me a spinning plates. He continued that he would like Jess to put on some weight so that she could throw further but that would risk slowing her down for the sprints and hurdles.
14 athletes from 13 countries was just the right number and with a real international flavour – and two from the home country give the crowd something to cheer for. We started with the sprint hurdles. Beatrice Juškeviciute (Lithuania) was the early leader.
The high jump saw Jade O’Dowda clear 1.87 In the high jump, a second successive PR to take the lead. O’Dowda managed a third successive PR in the shot but that was by far her weakest event, which was won by Saga Vanninen, who had two throws over 15 metres – more than three metres longer than the athlete in last place recorded. At the end of the morning session Vanninen had moved into the lead with Kate O’Connor second and O’Dowda third. (The Runblogrun statisticians are currently checking whether this is the first time at an international competition that the halfway medal positions in a pentathlon including two athletes with the surname beginning O’).
In the afternoon long jump Vanninen’s PR kept her in the lead while Sophie Doktor, for the host nation, also securing a PR, moved into second place. A solid performance by O’Dowda put her back into third with O’Connor not far behind in fourth.
If the sprint hurdles is about speed, the horizontal and vertical jumps about athletic skill and the shot about strength, the final event, the 800 meters is all about stamina and endurance. It’s about keeping going when your lungs are bursting and your legs are falling off.
The funny thing about it is that it’s not at all about who wins; it’s about what a particular athlete has to do to catch up with the athlete ahead in the rankings or to maintain position over the athlete below. After 4 events gold and silver were clearly between Vanninen and Doktor – could Doktor beat Vanninen by enough to take first place. Could O’Connor, who was stronger on paper in the 800 than O’Dowda turn that strength into a four second gap?
O’Connor was fastest in the 800, running a PR. While O’Dowda battled well, she ran out of steam so O’Connor did enough to gain bronze. Vanninen beat Doktor to confirm her victory.
It finished:
1 Saga Vanninnen (Finland) 4922
2 Sophie Doktor (Netherlands) 4826
3 Kate O’Connor (Ireland) 4781
4 Jade O’Dowda (GB) 4751
The winner said: “This gold medal is a really big thing for me. It’s my first win in a senior competition, so I’m just super happy about that. I had three PRs. I think that in every competition you learn something new. That enabled me to deal with the pressure more and more”.
Doktor said: “I have to try to be happy with the silver since I came so close to the (Dutch) national record, I also feel a little bit disappointed. The atmosphere is crazy. That makes it a great pentathlon. To come second in front of the home crowd with my friends and family makes this (medal) more beautiful”.
O’Connor summed up her day: “Almost all the girls out there are professionals. I am just a little girl, I am studying my master’s degree, so to be able to finish up there and get a bronze medal for my country is surreal. I really wanted a medal but honestly, I was not expecting to get it. It was a phenomenal competition”.
O’Dowda called it a bittersweet experience. Three PRs and a solid performance but just missing out on the medal because her legs could not find a little more speed in the 800.
Another thing which makes the pentathlon special is the tradition that rather than the medalists having a lap of honor, all the athletes go round the track together in an expression of mutual respect.
