Light and shadow for the German team on the first day of the World Championships in Athletics in Eugene: pole vaulter Jacqueline Otchere cheered, walker Christopher Linke got out. There were three decisions – and an emotional farewell. The first day of competition in summary.
Mixed Relay: Bronze farewell for Allyson Felix
Athletics legend Allyson Felix was enthusiastically celebrated by the home crowd, but surprisingly missed her 14th World Championship gold when he left the World Championship stage. In the mixed relay over 4×400 m, the highly favored hosts only came third (3:10.16). Final runner Kennedy Simon collapsed while in the lead on the home straight. Gold went to the Dominican Republic (3:09.82) ahead of the Netherlands (3:09.90) with hurdle star Femke Bol.
For the most successful track and field athlete in World Championship history, it was the 19th medal at World Championships. The DLV quartet had previously missed the final.
20 km walk: Christopher Linke gives up
In the sweltering heat of Eugene, the competition set a hell of a pace from the start – too much for Christopher Linke, who finished fourth in Doha and fifth in Tokyo in 2019. After twelve kilometers the man from Potsdam got out.
“If it had been my only start, I would have fought to the last meter. But I had in mind that I wanted to do the 35 kilometers in nine days, so I decided that I’d rather save my strength and then go there to perform,” explained the 33-year-old.
The old and new world champion is the Japanese Toshikazu Yamanishi (1:19:07 hours), who triumphed in front of his compatriot Koki Ikeda (1:19:14). Bronze went to the Swede Perseus Karlstrom (1:19:18).
Fig 15th – Historic gold for Peru
In the women’s race, Peru’s Kimberly Garcia finished ahead of Poland’s Katarzyna Zdzieblo (1:27:31) and China’s Qieyang Shijie (1:27:56) in 1:26:58, winning her first medal at the World Championships -History for their country. The two-time German champion Saskia Feige took a good 15th place after 1:32:12 hours. “My goal was to be among the first 20 starters,” said the Leipzig native. She finished eleventh at the 2019 World Cup in Doha and had to give up early at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Women’s Pole Vault Qualifier: Otchere surprised
Jacqueline Otchere apparently has nerves of steel. The Mannheim resident only found out about her subsequent nomination a week ago and arrived very closely. Now she is in the World Cup final on Monday (2:25 a.m. CEST). And that despite the fact that she had to wait several minutes for her first attempt due to a technical error in the slat apparatus. 4.50 m without a single failed attempt and thus the season’s best performance, she was not least enthusiastic about herself: “Somehow I stayed with myself. It’s amazing!”
High jump: European champion Przybylko in the final
European Champion Mateusz Przybylko had to tremble in the qualification down to the last jumper. Only then was it clear that his 2.25 m was enough to make it into the final of the top twelve on Tuesday (2.45 a.m. CEST, in the live stream on Sportschau.de). “I’m so happy. Today was my lucky day,” said the man from Leverkusen. “But there’s more in the final. Definitely.” Tobias Potye, German champion together with Przybylko, dropped out. The man from Munich, whose personal best is 2.30 m, only crossed 2.21 m.
1,500 m women: consolation and small strong
Hanna Klein and Katharina Trost showed convincing performances, both of whom reached the semi-finals on Saturday (4.05 a.m. CEST, in the live ticker at Sportschau.de). Trost advanced as a strong overall fifth in a personal best of 4:03.53 minutes. “I’m really happy,” said the Munich resident. Klein divided the race perfectly, accelerated impressively at the end and secured the coveted semi-final starting place with fifth place in her run (4:05.13). “I was ready to take all attacks. I’m so happy,” she said.
100 m men: Wagner out – Kerley shines in 9.79
Sprinter Julian Wagner showed a good performance, but dropped out in his preliminary run over 100 m with 10.21 seconds. The US top favorite Fred Kerley was the fastest on the first lap with a strong 9.79 seconds – a demonstration.
Shot put: Katharina Maisch unlucky
The shot put finals take place without German participation. Simon Bayer from Sindelfingen jumped 19.71 m in qualifying and was clearly eliminated. With an outstanding throw of 22.28 m, Ryan Crouser (USA) made it into the final as the best and packed his bag again after just one attempt.
Bad luck had Katharina Maisch, who missed the twelfth place necessary for progress with 18.57 m as 13th by a hair’s breadth. Bitter: The Swede Axelina Johansson also shot 18.57 m, but overtook the 25-year-old because she has the better second longest distance. Julia Ritter dropped out in 15th place (18.22 m). Olympic champion Lijiao Gong, who was the best in the preliminary competition with a season best of 19.51 m, underlined her ambitions to win the world title for the third time in a row.
Hammer throw: Off for Schwandke and Borutta
Tristan Schwandke was also over in the hammer throw qualification. The 30-year-old German runner-up, who had been nominated at short notice, took 22nd place with 72.87 m. Pawel Fajdek from Poland entered the final with the best performance. The defending champion was the only competitor to balance his equipment over 80 m (80.09). m). Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki followed with 79.22 m.
In the women’s category, Samantha Borutta’s 67.48 m was far from her personal best (72.14 m). “I had imagined throws over 70 m. It was missing a bit of everything,” said the World Cup debutant, who was eliminated in the end without a sound. “But for the European Championships in Munich, I’ll take the experience from Eugene with me.”
This also applies to the two German steeplechasers. There was nothing to be gained for Frederik Ruppert and Karl Bebendorf, who at least ran the best time of the season in 8:25.73 minutes – the early exit.
