When Bryan Clay moved from his blocks with pace in the 60 metres before leaping with style in the Long Jump, we did not know what the last few hours had brought for the World Decathlon champion.
He had hardly slept, feeling unwell, arriving at the track dizzy but somehow he composed himself to establish a lead in the Heptathlon.
By the third discipline, the Shot Put, he was still in charge but he would probably be grateful that only event remained today so he could at least try to sleep before the final three events tomorrow.
While Roman Sebrle, of the Czech Republic, was his challenger after two disciplines, the Shot Put changed that. Russia’s Aleksey Drozdov did not disappoint in front of his home supporters, with a best effort of 16.64m on his final attempt to win.
Second was Sebrle with 15.74m, from his second go, while Clay, after fouling on the first round, achieved 13.89m on the second.
But it was only good enough for sixth place in the Shot Put competition itself, with Drozdov’s winning put worth 891 points compared to 722 for Clay.
Second was Kristjan Rahnu with 15.78, a pb, while Sebrle scored 835 points with his season’s best.
Though Clay led, it was now by only by 37 points, with 2720, from Drozdov, with 2683, and Sebrle, with 2682.
