Danny Ecker of Germany wins the Pole Vault with 5.71m in Birmingham (© Getty Images)
Cottbus, GermanyDanny Ecker jumped 5.80m to win the Pole Vault at the 18th International Lausitzer Leichtathletik Meeting in Cottbus on Wednesday evening (20). It was a season’s best for the European Indoor champion from Birmingham. Throwing events produced some fine results as well in Cottbus.
Ecker had only four jumps in the whole competition, because he opted to stop competing after clearing 5.80m at his first attempt. Before he had jumped 5.40 at his second jump and had cleared 5.70 at the first approach. Tim Lobinger was second with 5.70 while Lars Börgeling took third (5.65), just missing 5.70 at his last attempt.
“My right hand still hurts because of an inflamed tendon. But once I got over this I should be able to jump even better,” Ecker said.
Because of the problem this was only the second competition for Ecker this season. “It is not much better though than in Kassel two weeks ago.” When he had opened his season Ecker had jumped 5.62m. “I really did not expect to jump 5.80 metres today. I have never started a season so well, jumping such a height in my second competition.”
It was due to the inflamed tendon but also because he had not brought hard enough poles to Cottbus that he decided to quit after 5.80m. “I simply did not expect to jump that high.” Ecker is not nominated for the European Cup this weekend and still has to decide where he will jump next.
Sack again puts far
Peter Sack continued showing great consistency in the Shot Put, winning with 20.76m. Once again he beat Ralf Bartels and had a fine series with five throws better than 20 metres (x; 20.76; 20.29; 20.13; 20.20; 20.10). Bartels took second with 20.40 while Pavel Lyzhyn (Belarus) was third (20.02).
Petra Lammert won the women’s Shot Put event with 19.17m, while two Cubans, the Olympic Champion Yumileidi Cumba (18.44) and Misleidis Gonzalez (18.26), followed.
66.95m victory for Obergföll over Nerius
Once again Christina Obergföll beat her national rival Steffi Nerius in the Javelin with 66.95. And once again Nerius looked the likely winner for long. She had thrown 65.78 metres at her second attempt. But only one more throw was valid with 64.56. In contrast Obergföll improved almost from round to round after opening with 62.39 m and finally took the lead in round five with 66.95. This was a meeting record for Cottbus.
Collins opens his 100m season
While a number of German 100m sprinters had declined to go to Cottbus because for them it was too much travelling to the Polish border a prominent athlete from St. Kitts & Nevis did not mind coming: Kim Collins, the 2003 World champion, opened his season in Cottbus. After three false starts, one of these due to a technical problem, the field went off and Collins took the lead at roughly half-way. But he could not quite hold it in his first race and was edged out by Christian Krone (South Africa), who clocked 10.25 seconds.
“I did not compete earlier this season because I was not ready for it,” said Collins, who ran 10.28 in perfect conditions with no wind.
“My first race is usually not a very good one so I am okay with this result. I will get better in the next races”, said Collins, who will compete in Moscow next week. His goal for the World Championships in Osaka? “I want to win the gold medal”, said Kim Collins, who took in bronze in Helsinki in 2005.
Schumann short of speed
There was another famous former champion running in Cottbus: Nils Schumann. The 2000 Olympic 800m champion had run his first race of the year in Warsaw last weekend after a number of seasons were ruined by injuries. Schumann was slightly slower than in Warsaw and finished fourth with 1:48.32 in a race won by Kenyan Nahashon Ruto in 1:47.50. There was nothing to be seen in Cottbus of his great kick, which won him the Olympic and a European gold as well.
“I know what is missing and I know what to do. The most important thing is that I was able to train properly this year without any injury problems,” said Schumann. Regarding Osaka he said: “The qualifying time of 1:45.40 is not an easy one to beat within the next four weeks. I am convinced that I will be able to run this season – but I am not sure if I will be able to do so before the German team is named.”
Jörg Wenig for the IAAF
Other winners from Cottbus:
Men:
400 m: California Molefe BOT 46,32
1500 m: Samson Sorum KEN 3:38,49
110 m h: Allan Scott GBR 13.84
3000 m SC: Abdelkader Hachlaf MAR 8:22.09
Women:
100 m: Franka Idoko NGR 11.54
400 m: Christy Ekpukpon NGR 51,96
800 m: Mina Ait Hammou MAR 2:03,27
LJ : Urszula Gutowicz-Westhof GER 6.53
HJ: Barbora Lalakova CZE 1.95
