Weitsprung world champion Malaika Mihambo showed her outstanding performance at the Istaf Indoor indoor meeting in Berlin. The 27-year-old athlete from the LG Kurpfalz rose to 6.77 meters in her victory on Friday. No other woman in the world has jumped that far this year. In her success last weekend in Düsseldorf, she jumped 6.74 meters. It wasn’t enough for the first seven-meter set in the Olympic year in Berlin. “I am happy. You can see that things are going in the right direction, ”said Mihambo.
Maryna Bech-Romantschuk came second in Berlin with 6.64 meters. The Ukrainian had finished second behind Mihambo at the 2019 World Cup in Doha / Qatar and beat her at the Istaf in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium in September 2020.
Sheet metal over 5.80 meters
In a thrilling pole vault competition, the Leverkusen whiz kid Torben Blech only had to admit defeat to the Philippine surprise man Ernest John Obiena. Both jumped 5.80 meters. Obiena, who increased his personal best by 18 centimeters, required fewer failed attempts. Blech had recently increased to 5.86 meters in his victory in Düsseldorf.
Like Obiena, he failed three times in Berlin at 5.87. Third was Oleg Zernikel (Landau) with an increase to 5.72. The World Cup fourth Bo Kanda Lita Behre (Leverkusen) finished sixth (5.62). Former world champion Raphael Holzdeppe (Zweibrücken) was eighth and last, only able to overcome 5.42 meters and announced the end of his indoor season. “Physically I’m in good shape, but my head is not fit, mentally I’m burned out,” said Holzdeppe.
In the women’s 60 meter hurdles, World Cup runner-up Christina Clemons achieved another year’s best performance in 7.83 seconds, Ricarda Lobe (Mannheim) came in sixth in the final (8.19). In the men’s hurdles sprint, the American Aaron Mallet prevailed in the photo finish against the favored Olympic runner-up Orlando Ortega from Spain. Both runners ran the 60 meters for 7.64 seconds. Erik Balnuweit (VfL Wolfsburg) came third in 7.70 seconds. He undercut the norm for the European Indoor Championships in Torun / Poland at the beginning of March.
In the men’s 60-meter sprint, Kevin Kranz (Wetzlar) finished third in the victory of Ivorian Arthur Cisse (6.53) in 6.62 seconds, the German 100-meter record holder Julian Reus (Erfurt) retired, as did last year’s climber Deniz Almas (Wolfsburg) in advance. In the women’s category, Lisa Mayer (Wetzlar) was only beaten by Maja Mihalinec-Zidar (7.23) from Slovenia in 7.26 seconds. Local hero Lisa-Marie Kwayie finished sixth in 7.36 seconds.
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