Hypo-Meeting, Götzis, Austria, May 28-29

I thought I'd better set up a separate thread on the eagerly anticipated multi-eventer premiere of Jessica Ennis, getting underway tomorrow morning. So here is the preview of IAAF on the event while I'll be coming back with more later:

http://www.iaaf.org/WCE11/news/newsid=60094.html

Timetable, Entries and Results:
http://www.iaaf.org/wce11/results/eventCode=4745/index.html

Given some question mark hanging over her long jump yet, Jessica will need to turn her hurdling prowess to sound advantage and get her campaign off to a flying pace, dictating procedures and gaining a hold on the competition from the off.

This is the place she loves to be, controlling things from the front, and she knows that a swift start will place immediate pressure on both Natalya Dobrinska and Tatyana Chernova, making them more subject to slip-ups on the way.

They know Jessica won't easily stumble, and even if she does she is always going to bounce back with a vengeance, so they're going to have to stretch themselves to remain within sight of her.

Jessica ran 12.88 secs in the streets of Manchester a couple of weeks ago so she's nowhere short of her best, contrast to earlier worries over her fitness, therefore could steer closer to the low 12.8s all being equal. And such a start will be a hard act to follow for both her major rivals, who aren't among the best hurdlers themselves.

The heptathlon gets off shortly underway so let's see how it shapes up after the first discipline.

Well, Jessica gets off to a dream start even though she doesn't put her very best out on the track, winning in 13.03 secs in totally still conditions (0.0m/sec). Yet, Olympic champion Natalya Dobrinska wobbles bad to a dismal 14.04 secs in the previous heat while Tatyana Chernova trails well behind in 13.69 secs. Everything just as Jessica would have wished for and even better! Game over from the start?

After the first discipline, Jessica has arleady established a sound lead of 112pts on Tatyana Chernova, who actually ran an even slower 13.79 secs in the hurdles, and a massive 147pts on Natalya Dobrynska who's got to conjure up something soon if she wants to haul back in contention.

Standings:
http://www.iaaf.org/wce11/results/eventCode=4745/sex=W/discCode=HEP/combCode=hash/roundCode=1/summary.html#det

World champion Trey Hardee (USA) also sweeps off to a smooth start in a fast 10.44 secs, a SB as it seems, in the 100m of the Decathlon.

Men's standings after one event:
http://www.iaaf.org/wce11/results/eventCode=4745/sex=M/discCode=DEC/combCode=hash/roundCode=1/summary.html#det

Jessica Ennis has cleared a SB of 1.88m in the high jump to shape plenty of daylight on her major rivals who have languished well behind.

Jessica looks as though she is going to nail that heptathlon from early on as she clears a UK-topper of 1.91m in the high jump. She's really running away with it at the moment!

Both last two heights were cleared at the third time of asking, so let's see if she can do the trick again at her third at 1.94m.

Jessica can't rise over that height in the end this time round but she comes to amass 2239pts out of the first two disciplines and build a crucial 263pts lead on Dobrynska, who's currently lying sixth at 1976pts. I don't know yet how Chernova has fared in the high jump.

Second at the moment is another Jessica, Canada's Zelinka, a good 180pts down.

Another great start for Jess.
It must be tough trying to run quickly that early
in the morning so I'm not surprised she was a
bit slower than her Manchester run (doubt if
she was pushed that hard either).
High Jump was excellent. I just wonder if
the weight training she had done to improve
shot and javelin will prevent her from
ever jumping 1.96m.

Jessica could not quite match her performances in the first two disciplines as she managed a first-round 13.94m in the shot, which rather surprisingly has seen her still maintain a sound lead of 120pts on currently second-placed Austra Skujyte (LTU).

But more importantly, Natalya Dobrynska failed to capitalise as she couldn't reach further than 15.28m herself so Jessica could stretch the gap a good deal further in the closing event of the day, the 200m.

Tatyana Chernova is having a nightmare of a heptathlon so far as she crashed out of the high jump at just 1.79m earlier.

Trey Hardee is dominating the decathlon on the men's side as two PBs on the spin, a 7.88m (0.6m/sec) in the long jump and a 15.63m in the shot, have seen him extend his lead to a sound 277pts on a total of 2847pts after three events, with Estonia's Mikk Paharil struggling to keep within some reasonable distance.

Tatyana Chernova could not produce any sort of response in the women's shot either to slip further down into eighth on 2680pts, her best on the day at 12.67m. I dare say it looks like she has already thrown in the towel.

Jessica is an assured leader on 3029pts followed by Skujyte on 2909 and Dobrynska on 2856pts.

Current standings:
http://www.meeting-goetzis.at/

Big 23.11 (legal) for Jessica in the 200 stretching her lead even further.

Simpson out presumably injured.

Jessica Ennis looks rampant roaring to that PB of 23.11 secs (1.1m/sec), Teassoc, to all but seal that heptathlon from the end of the first day, can't recall since when something like that may have happened. For good measure, she replaces Abi Oyepitan at the top of the UK 200m rankings and gets under the B qualifier.

I don't think that Dobrynska can steal that win by any stretch of the imagination during the second day tomorrow, even more so following a poor run of 25.20 secs to slip down to seventh in the standings. She's now lying a huge 372pts down on Ennis. Chernova, for her part, remains eighth after a much better 200m in 23.51 secs.

Ennis is leading now on 4097pts at the end of that first day and I'm starting wondering whether she could challenge Denise Lewis UK record at this rate, having definitely performed beyond expectations given her recent lengthy lay-off. That long jump early on tomorrow is going to prove decisive in that light.

Standings:
http://www.meeting-goetzis.at/

JE is some athlete.
UK leader in HJ & 200m coming back after injury.
Would love to see her under 23s for the half lap.
Bit surprised Louise Hazell is not competing as the
experience would have been ideal in the build up
to London and she might have recorded a big pb.

Trey Hardee looks unstoppable as he turns in a 13.73 secs, just two hundredths outside his PB, in the 110m hurdles in totally still conditions at the start of the second day of the decathlon, pulling away further to a unassailable margin of 342pts on second placed now Oleksiy Kasyanov (UKR).

The American World champion is lying on 5563pts after six events and save some disaster he should run away with victory, with a high score under his belt as well.

Standings:
http://www.meeting-goetzis.at/

IAAF's account on the first day of action that saw Trey Hardee and Jessica Ennis dominate their respective affairs from the gun:
http://www.iaaf.org/WCE11/news/newsid=60123.html

Despite a 'messy' hurdles opening, as herself described it, Jessica Ennis has quite remarkably drawn well in contention to pursue Denise Lewis's UK record of 6831pts, which she missed by a mere 8 pts at the Europeans in Barcelona last summer.

Jessica is lying 17 points up on her respective score at the end of the first day when she set her PB of 6823pts therein and a lot will ride on how she negotiates that long jump at the beginning of the second day.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/8543880/Jessica-Ennis-on-course-to-break-Denise-Lewiss-British-heptathlon-record-at-World-Combined-Events-Challenge.html

A name to watch out for the future looks young Dutch girl Dafne Schippers, the World U20 champion in the heptathlon, who is lying third at 3767pts following a very impressive PB of 22.90 secs (1.8m/sec) to finish ahead of Ennis in the 200m yesterday.

Jessica didn't start well with just 6.05m at the first attempt in the long jump so will need to step up her efforts considerably in the next two rounds if she is to sustain her challenge on Denise Lewis's UK record. Dobrynska got 6.34m by the way.

But there's the response of a true champion as Jessica takes off to a well-improved 6.37m in the second round and set her claim on the UK record back on track!

lsabre wrote:Jessica didn't start well with just 6.05m at the first attempt in the long jump so will need to step up her efforts considerably in the next two rounds if she is to sustain her challenge on Denise Lewis's UK record. Dobrynska got 6.34m by the way.

I don't if that was her strategy, but if I was her I'd always get a 'safe' jump in first to protect her overall position. Now she's free to go much further.

teassoc wrote:

lsabre wrote:Jessica didn't start well with just 6.05m at the first attempt in the long jump so will need to step up her efforts considerably in the next two rounds if she is to sustain her challenge on Denise Lewis's UK record. Dobrynska got 6.34m by the way.

I don't if that was her strategy, but if I was her I'd always get a 'safe' jump in first to protect her overall position. Now she's free to go much further.

Agreed - something I always tell my lot. Far too much pressure doing it the other way round

Unfortunately, Jessica gets only 6.06m in her final effort but a PB in the javelin could tee her up nicely for a crack at Denise Lewis's record.

Chervova flies to a PB of 6.82m but as usual she's left it way too late...

I'd like to see Jess doing more 200 and LJ individual comps - she's not going to be as competitive as the hurdles, but she'd get a lot of points from those two events

Realistically, she should be looking to be a sub-23/6.70 girl, so that 23.2 and 6.50 are there in every hep

Not so well by Trey Hardee in the discus, getting a best of 45.20m on the day, but he's still a long way ahead in the decathlon.

Chernova has soared up to second thanks to that long jump PB but she's still training Jessica by 242pts.

Standings:
http://www.meeting-goetzis.at/

Thanks for that link, lsabre. Amazed at the poor quality of the wSP - Jess 4th furthest of everyone says a lot about the other women, given she was a good half metre down on what we'd expect!

Ennis 43m 1st round, 39m 2nd round, 3rd round still to go

Not great, but everyone's marks a bit down, so guessing wind to blame

If it stays that way, Jessica will have to pull off some extraordinary run in the 800m to stand any chance of a UK record. But, anyway, it's been a very welcome surprise that she has come to challenge it on the back of a quite limited build-up.

I noticed that the shot's performances were down too yesterday and Trey Hardee was well down on his best in the discus earlier on, so conditions may not be so throwing conductive.

By the way, you're welcome JJimBoJames.

Jessica can't improve on her 43.83m opening attempt in the javelin so a new UK record in the heptathlon looks as though slipping away from her grasp as it's going to require something around 2:05 to make it. Even a PB demands a low 2:06 as things stand right now.

Nevertheless, Jessica is comfortably leading on 5803pts with just a discipline to spare and is about to add another illustrious victory to her amazing range of feats, far easier than anyone would have predicted - even herself and Toni Minichiello come to that!

Tatyana Chernova is a clear second on 5623 while Natalya Dobrynska has pulled herself up a couple of places into fifth on 5441pts.

Standings:
http://www.meeting-goetzis.at/

Jessica never knows what impossible means and still pulls a new PB of 2:08.47 in the 800m to round out a scintillating campaign at 6790pts, a world leading performance and easily her second best ever score! She has now laid down an impressive early marker to signal the rest the mighty task awaiting them against her in Daegu. Well done Jess!

Final Heptathlon standings while the Decathlon is still due a couple of disciplines:

http://www.meeting-goetzis.at/

Words almost fail me. What a competitor that girl is. 800 m
in a personal best after injury. Fantastic !

I forgot to post the final decathlon results as reigning world champion Trey Hardee may have stumbled over a discipline or two on the second day but still demonstrated that he's fully prepared to defend his title in Daegu in setting a world-leading score of 8689pts.

Hardee rounded out his campaing with a 63.33m in the javelin (788pts) and a 4:46.88 clocking in the 1500m and could even afford to watch a long way behind him where Cuban Leonel Suarez came an eventual runner-up on 8440pts (SB), with Estonia's Nikk Paharil third on 8398pts (PB). These totals, as a matter of fact, filled the top three places in the world rankings this season.

Final standings:
http://www.meeting-goetzis.at/