Barbora Špotáková finishes second in Ostrava (© graf.cz)
Competing before a crowd of nearly 10,000, Barbora Spotakova produced the key highlight at the Josef Odlozil Memorial in Prague on Monday (13).
The Olympic champion and World record holder reaced a season’s best 65.77m in the final round to win the Javelin Throw and move up to the No. 3 position on this year’s world lists. Illustrating her improved consistency, she backed up her winning effort with 64.06m and 64.07 throws in rounds three and five.
Germany’s Katharina Molitor, a 2008 Olympic finalist, was second in 63.32m, with Australian champion Kim Mickle (61.25m) third.
The best race on the Juliska Stadium track came in the women’s 800m, won by Algerian Zahra Bouras. The runner-up in Rabat nine days ago, the 24-year-old out-ran Slovak Lucia Klocová to win in 1:59.21, knocking 0.33 from her personal best set at this meeting one year ago. Klocová (1:59.48) held off Russian Klyuka (1:59.65) for second while it took a careful photo read to separate Czech Lenka Masná (2:00.92) and Jana Hartmann (2:00.93) of Germany for fourth.
The men’s memorial 1500m, honouring the Czech middle distance great Odlozil, went to Moroccan Fouad El Kaam in 3:35.93. Ethiopia’s Dawit Wolde was second with a 3:36.23 personal best, ahead of Kenyan Polonet (3:37.74) and Czech Jakub Holuša, who improved to 3:38.10.
21-year-old Ethiopian Birtukan Alemu notched a 9:30.25 personal best to win the women’s 3000m Steeplechase, comfortably ahead of Kenyans Christine Muyanga and Purity Kirui, who clocked 9:34.12 and 9:37.85, respectively.
Czech Zuzana Hejnová, a former World youth and World junior medallist, followed up her Oslo 400m Hurdles victory with another solid run, winning here in 54.44, well ahead of Russia’s reigning European champion Natalya Antyukh, whose 55.11 was a season’s best.
The men’s race went to 19-year-old Briton Jack Green, who improved his lifetime best to 49.11.
There was a 1-2-3 sweep for the USA in the men’s 110m Hurdles, with Ty Akins winning comfortably in 13.39 ahead of Fred Townsend and Jeff Porter who were each credited with 13.47.
In the women’s 100m Hurdles, American Kristi Castlin dominated in 12.83, with Czech record holder Lucie Skrobakova a distant runner-up (13.02).
Czech Jaroslav Baba equalled his season’s best with a third attempt clearance at 2.31m, a meeting record, to win the men’s High Jump, before bowing out with thee tries at a would-be 2.35m world lead. Greeks Dimitrios Hondrokoukis and Kostadinos Baniotis each cleared 2.28m to finish second and third.
Krisztián Pars of Hungary won the Hammer Throw with a 78.68m best in the fourth round, though his 77.50 from the fifth would have been enough to defeat runner-up Marcus Esser of Germany whose 77.23, best came in the opening round. World leader Aleksey Zagorniy of Russia had a bad day, fouling on his first three efforts and not making the cut to advance.
Elsewhere, Moroccan record holder (10.09, 2011) Aziz Ouhadi, the surprise winner in Rabat, took the 100m in 10.21 ahead of Ghanaian Aziz Zakari (10.24). Russian Yuliya Chermoshanskaya won the women’s 200m in 22.92 ahead of American Stephanie Durst (23.04). Victories in the Pole Vault went to Czechs Jan Kudlicka (5.60m) and Jirina Ptacnikova (4.52m) while Maris Urtans of Latvia took the Shot Put with a 20.27m best.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
