Kevin Mayer in the decathlon long jump at the IAAF World Championships London 2017 (© Getty Images)
The decathlon is still in the early stages, but it is already shaping up to be a five-way battle for three medals.
Olympic silver medallist Kevin Mayer consolidated his status as the pre-event favourite by sailing out to a season’s best of 7.52m in the long jump. Although he didn’t move up the leader board, the French decathlete looks to be on course for a score in excess of 8800 points.
Damian Warner and Rico Freimuth, the world silver and bronze medallists respectively, swapped their positions at the top of the table. Warner jumped 7.44m, while Freimuth’s 7.48m was enough to see him move three points ahead of Warner to take the overall lead with 1898.
Freimuth’s fellow German Kai Kazmirek shot up the standings from 11th to fifth overall after leaping a season’s best of 7.64m, the second-best mark of the day. Neutral athlete Ilya Shkurenev climbed up 13 positions to 12th place overall, thanks to a 7.62m jump.
Thailand’s Sutthisak Singkhon produced the best mark of the day, leaping 7.65m to move into the top 10.
Ashley Bryant of the host nation opened with a foul which looked to be in the region of 7.70m. With the pressure on for his two remaining attempts, he ended with a best of 7.44m. Estonia’s Karl Robert Saluri also performed well and moved into equal second after jumping 7.49m.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
