Javier Sotomayor’s 23-year old World Record (WR) of 2.45m is safe from extinction, at least for the time being, after some of the world’s best jumpers could do no harm to the mark at the Bislett Stadium, venue of the Oslo Diamond League on Thursday.
At least 69 WRs have been set at the stadium which is renowned for churning such feats, but the reverse was the case in the men’s High Jump as meeting favourite, Mutaz Barshim, and fierce rival, Bohdan Bondarenko, struggled to make an impact, much to the dismay of the Oslo fans who had turned up in their numbers to witness what had been predicted to be one of the best High Jump meetings ever.
Perhaps the pair was subconsciously placed under undue pressure by the presence of Sotomayor at the Bislett Stadium, with the windy conditions also playing a part in their inability to replicate the same form which saw them being ranked as some of the best athletes EVER. Prior to the competition, the Cuban revealed that he would want his record to remain unbeaten, and his wish was granted!
The second best jumper of all time, Barshim failed all three attempts at 2.36m, a dismal performance for the Qatari who was in WR form as he easily won the event in Eugene where he cleared 3.41m less than two weeks ago. He was relegated to joint 3rd with USA’s Erik Kynard in Oslo with a mark of 2.33m.
World champion, Bohdan Bondarenko, who has had an up-and-down season, could only settle for 5th place, also with 2.33m, while Olympic champion, Ivan Ukhov, still struggling to get back to form, finished 8th with 2.25m after three failures at 2.29m.
The man who stole the show was China’s Guowei Zhang, who is gradually becoming a threat to Barshim’s world title dreams. The Chinese finished 2nd behind Barshim in Eugene with a Personal Best (PB) of 2.38m. He dominated in Oslo after being the only athlete to scale past 2.36m, before failing three attempts at 2.40. However, he now has a psychological advantage over his opponents ahead of the next meeting. Italy’s Marco Fassinotti was 2nd with 2.33m.
The men’s Long Jump event was keenly competed, but it was Olympic champion, Greg Rutherford who took the day with his 2nd jump of 8.25m, ahead of USA’s Michael Hartfield (8.04m), while reigning world champion, Aleksandr Menkov was a close 3rd with 8.00m. Olympic Triple Jump GOLD medallist, Christian Taylor placed 4th (7.93m) while the South African duo of Khotso Mokoena and Zarck Visser were 5th and 6th respectively with 7.90m and 7.85m.
World and IAAF Continental Cup champion, Caterine Ibarguen continued her winning streak, taking the Triple Jump event in 14.68m. The Colombian has remained unbeaten for three years, and her victory in Oslo made it twenty-five consecutive wins in the Diamond League. Gabriela Petrova (14.57m) and Olha Saladukha (14.46m) followed closely in 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
In the women’s Shot put event, European champion Christina Schwanitz held sway with a distance of 20.14m, while USA’s pair of Michelle Carter and Brittany Smith took 2nd and 3rd respectively with 19.20m and 18.93m. Poland’s Robert Urbanek won the men’s Discus throw with 63.85m and was followed by Erik Cadee of the Netherlands (62.32m) and Piotr Malachowski (62.32m). Christoph Harting of Germany was 4th with a throw of 62.19m.
Israel’s Marharyta Dorozhon emerged the surprise winner in the women’s Javelin throw as she set a National record (NR) of 64.56m, ahead of South Africa’s Sunette Viljoen (64.36m) and Olympic and European champion, Barbora Špotakova (64.10m). Check out how the athletes fared in the track events in Oslo.
