Gina Lückenkemper stormed to her third German championship title over 100 meters under the mark of eleven seconds and has proven again four years after the European Championship silver that she is back in her old form. In 10.99 seconds, the 25-year-old was only four hundredths of a second short of her personal best at the German Athletics Championships on Saturday in Berlin.
“I love the Olympic Stadium, I love the crowd here. That’s something very special for me,” said the native of Westphalia, who competes for SCC Berlin. After injuries and problems caused by the corona pandemic, Lückenkemper is now as fast as before in time for the World Cup and European Championship. Last year’s double champion Alexandra Burghardt decided not to start over the 100 meters after warming up. Burghardt won silver in bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics in February.
Fourth German title win for Pudenz
A nearby thunderstorm and dark clouds were just beginning to clear when Germany’s best discus thrower Kristin Pudenz set the first highlight. When the action continued in the afternoon after a good half-hour wait, the Olympic silver medalist threw the disc at 67.10 meters – a personal best. At the Tokyo Games, Pudenz had achieved her best distance to date with 66.78 meters. “I noticed that straight away. I hope it goes a little further,” said Pudenz about her best throw.
With her fourth German title win, the 29-year-old once again confirmed that she is one of the manageable circle of German medal hopes at the World Championships in Eugene in the USA in three weeks. This also applies to the European Championships from August 15 in Munich.
In a high-class competition, Shanice Craft from Halle came second with 64.64 meters, local hero Julia Harting came in third with 64.34 meters. Claudine Vita from Neubrandenburg took fourth place with 63.36 meters.
In the absence of Johannes Vetter, who suffered a shoulder injury, Julian Weber defended his javelin throw title. The Mainzer won with a good 86.61 meters. Former champion Andreas Hofmann only came in third with a disappointing 76.33 meters. Rio Olympic champion Thomas Röhler, who was slowed down by a back injury for a long time last year, was only fifth with only 71.81 meters. The 30-year-old from Jena qualified for the European Championships at home as the 2018 European champion, but did not meet the norm for the World Cup from July 15th to 24th.
While long-distance runner Konstanze Klosterhalfen, obstacle runner Gesa Krause and javelin thrower Christin Hussong are currently not fit, pole vaulter Bo Kanda Lita Baehre showed a strong performance. The 23-year-old from Leverkusen won his fourth German championship title with a personal best of 5.90 meters. Fourth in the world championships, defending champions Oleg Zernikel and Torben Blech, who each managed 5.70 meters, didn’t stand a chance.
“It was a stopover. I still want a bit of progression, that it goes even further up. I’m looking forward to everything that’s to come,” said Lita Baehre with a view to the World Cup and European Championship.
