Sebrle in Pole Vault free fall (© IAAF)
World record holder in the Decathlon, Czech star Roman Sebrle, continued his 2003 unbroken streak of winning Decathlons.
In last weekend's (12/13 July) IAAF World Combined Events Challenge event he achieved a very good score of 8606 points. Only he (8807 in Gotzis) and US champion Tom Pappas (8784) have achieved a better result this year.
Sebrle achieved the second highest mark in the meet's history, only his own score last year was better with 8701.
"Seeing my shape I must be satisfied. I could not expect a better result as Gotzis as I'm probably no longer in the shape I was at the beginning of the season. You could not keep it for six weeks."
"Additionally my result is always better if pushed by some rivals, and these were missing this time. On the other hand Ratingen is an excellent event with nice organisation and interest of the public. Even in my current shape it could give me plus 100 points if somebody would push me more."
"On Sunday I was very satisfied mainly with the Discus and Pole Vault, both results were better in comparison to Gotzis. I missed very closely my new Decathlon best in the Pole Vault when I just missed jumping over 520."
"In some events wind played a role, in the Hurdles there was a headwind of 1.2 m/s, in Long Jump it was a swirling one."
"Next week I will head for final preparation for Paris to the French centre of Font Romeu. My goal is clear - to be World outdoor champion. I think 8900 points would be enough for that," concluded Sebrle.
Results:
Decathlon:
1. Roman Sebrle, CZE 8606 (10.93 - 7.60 - 15.41 - 2.09 - 48.59 - 14.30 - 47.31 - 5.10 - 63.14 - 4:35.37),
2. Jon Arnar Magnusson, ISL 8023,
3. Sebastian Knabe,GER 7600.
Heptathlon:
1. Sonja Kesselschläger 6117,
2. Jamie Jamieson, AUS 5890,
3. Katja Keller, GER 5870
