Trey Hardee of the United States in action during the Men's Decathlon Discus Throw of the London 2012 Olympic Gameson August 9, 2012 (© Getty Images)
Like in all other field events, American Ashton Eaton had no problems whatsoever in getting a result good enough with his first try in the Discus Throw and continues with a huge lead on his way to the Olympic gold medal.
But his first throw of 42.53m was also his best and some four metres behind his recent season’s best. This means that the WR pace that he almost got hold of in the last event is now out of reach again without huge performances in the next two events.
Eaton still leads with 6409 points after the first seven events, but fellow American Trey Hardee gained important points with a good performance in the discus.
The Daegu World champion from last year was third in the discus with a good 48.26m second throw and has closed the gap on Eaton to just 99 points at this stage. But Hardee does not stand a chance to catch Eaton, unless the World record holder makes a mistake in the last three events.
Ukrainian Oleksiy Kasyanov overtook Canadian Damian Warner for the third place with a 46.72m result in the Discus Throw and 6111 points after seven events. Warner is close behind and is back in contention for the bronze medal as he put the 110m Hurdles disappointment back and hit his fourth personal best of the Decathlon in the Discus Throw with a 45.90m toss and fourth place with 6097p.
The Pole Vault will decide a lot about the possible medal contenders before the last two events, but surely both Belgian record holder Hans Van Alphen and Cuban 2008 Olympics bronze medallist Leonel Suárez have their eyes on the prize.
Kasyanov and Warner are both decent pole vaulters and have cleared 4.80m this season while Suárez has a 4.86m result this season and Van Alphen 4.96m, but the Ukrainian and Canadian are far behind Van Alphen and Suárez in the last two events, so it’s very important for them not to lose any more points in the Pole Vault.
Van Alphen was extremely strong in the discus with two long throws with his second and third throws following a foul with first. The Belgian hauled his discus to a 48.28 personal best and is in sixth place at the moment with 6040p going for a NR score around 8550p at the moment.
Suárez on the other hand was in real trouble in the discus having fouled his first throw and hit the cage with his second landing well below 30 metres. But the Cuban concentrated and delivered a fine throw of 45.75m with his third and final attempt, a season’s best in a tough position. He has 5964 points for the seventh place, but should gain a few points in the Pole Vault and is easily the best in the last two events having thrown well over 70 metres javelin in the past.
Germany’s Rico Freimuth topped the Discus Throw with a personal best of 49.11 with his second attempt and is in fifth place after seven events with 6047 points, but has to better in the last three events than he has done earlier this season to keep his place. He has a 4.86m Pole Vault mark, but has to get close to his javelin personal best 65.04m from last season to be in a good position before the 1500m.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
But his first throw of 42.53m was also his best and some four metres behind his recent season’s best. This means that the WR pace that he almost got hold of in the last event is now out of reach again without huge performances in the next two events.
Eaton still leads with 6409 points after the first seven events, but fellow American Trey Hardee gained important points with a good performance in the discus.
The Daegu World champion from last year was third in the discus with a good 48.26m second throw and has closed the gap on Eaton to just 99 points at this stage. But Hardee does not stand a chance to catch Eaton, unless the World record holder makes a mistake in the last three events.
Ukrainian Oleksiy Kasyanov overtook Canadian Damian Warner for the third place with a 46.72m result in the Discus Throw and 6111 points after seven events. Warner is close behind and is back in contention for the bronze medal as he put the 110m Hurdles disappointment back and hit his fourth personal best of the Decathlon in the Discus Throw with a 45.90m toss and fourth place with 6097p.
The Pole Vault will decide a lot about the possible medal contenders before the last two events, but surely both Belgian record holder Hans Van Alphen and Cuban 2008 Olympics bronze medallist Leonel Suárez have their eyes on the prize.
Kasyanov and Warner are both decent pole vaulters and have cleared 4.80m this season while Suárez has a 4.86m result this season and Van Alphen 4.96m, but the Ukrainian and Canadian are far behind Van Alphen and Suárez in the last two events, so it’s very important for them not to lose any more points in the Pole Vault.
Van Alphen was extremely strong in the discus with two long throws with his second and third throws following a foul with first. The Belgian hauled his discus to a 48.28 personal best and is in sixth place at the moment with 6040p going for a NR score around 8550p at the moment.
Suárez on the other hand was in real trouble in the discus having fouled his first throw and hit the cage with his second landing well below 30 metres. But the Cuban concentrated and delivered a fine throw of 45.75m with his third and final attempt, a season’s best in a tough position. He has 5964 points for the seventh place, but should gain a few points in the Pole Vault and is easily the best in the last two events having thrown well over 70 metres javelin in the past.
Germany’s Rico Freimuth topped the Discus Throw with a personal best of 49.11 with his second attempt and is in fifth place after seven events with 6047 points, but has to better in the last three events than he has done earlier this season to keep his place. He has a 4.86m Pole Vault mark, but has to get close to his javelin personal best 65.04m from last season to be in a good position before the 1500m.
Mirko Jalava for the IAAF
