Anna Hall did it!

Just two weeks back in my article on Grand Slam Track I was writing about Anna Hall:

[she is] to my opinion the best "young" heptathlete out there, the one that can succeed Thiam, and also the only one that can break N. Debois' legendary 800 m heptathlon record. 

It turned out that my words were prophetic (or simply, I got lucky). 

Competing in the Hypomeeting at Götzis Hall broke the heptathlon world best performance over 800 m. Nadine Debois had established the exceptional performance of 2:01.84 in 1987 during the European Cup of combined events. It had resisted during 38 years despite some worthwhile attacks over the years. The one who came closer was I. Belova, during the 2001 Hypomeeting where she finished in 2:02.06, but Belova had been previously sanctioned for doping, so one does not know what to think about her performance. (I am telling the story of the heptathlon/decathlon 800/1500 m, in my article "Facing the calvary" and one of the rare interviews in this blog is one with N. Debois).

After the end of javelin throw I rushed to find out the performance needed for Hall to break the 7000 points barrier. It was around 2:03, something that was perfectly in her possibilities. But Hall went all out and was rewarded not only with a 7k+ total but also by a new heptathlon 800 m record with 2:01.23. She started the competition with a, slightly below par, 13.19 s in the 100 m hurdles but then exploded in the high jump with 1.95 m personal best, followed by one in the shot put with 14.86 m and finishing the first day with 23.37 s in the 200 m. The long jump was the event where she might have  squandered her chances at 7k. She fouled the first jump and when I saw the second I was afraid that it was a foul too. However it turned out that it was OK with millimetre precision and with 6.44 m she stayed on track. She segued with a personal best of 46.16 m at the javelin and with her superb 800 m she completed her heptathlon with 7032 points on par with C. Kluft, ahead of Thiam and second only to Joyner-Kersee, becoming the fifth woman in history to break the 7000 points barrier.

Behind her S. Dokter and M. Araujo were drawn to great performances, a personal best for the former with 6576 and an area record for the latter with 6475 points.

The Götzis Hypomeeting was also a great competition for the men's decathlon. Perhaps even of higher quality than the women's event with the presence of the best decathletes in the world, the only absence being that of the olympic champion, M. Rooth. (And, no, I am not going to mention Mayer. At this point it is not clear whether a come-back is possible). 

However, if you wish to have an "live" account of the men's event it is best to visit the Décapassion page. My friend, F. Gousset made the trip to Austria, followed the competition in Götzis and brought back plenty of video-clips and photos. So, click on the link, go visit Décapassion (and don't worry if you don't speak french, today's AI tools can make an excellent job at translating). 

And if you are in Paris the week-end of June 14-15 (I'm not: I will be swimming at the Masters Finswimming world championships) you could go watch the Déca Meeting, organised by the Club Athlétique de Montreuil (that's the club of F. and P. Gousset). There is a women's decathlon in the program.

PS And a very detailed analysis of the Götzis competition can now be found on the main site of Décapassion. Don't miss it!