Steinforth and Sprengel claim the German double in Ratingen
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Till Steinforth and Sandrina Sprengel completed a German double setting their PBs at the Stadtwerke Mehrkampf meeting in Ratingen, the final World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Steinforth won the men’s decathlon with 8287, 61 points ahead of his compatriot Felix Wolter. Vilem Strasky finished third with 7986 points.
Steinforth improved Rico Freimuth’s meeting record in the 100 metres, improving his PB from 10.69 to 10.41. Sven Jansons from the Netherlands finished second setting his lifetime best with 10.56. Rik Taam placed third improving his PB by 0.03 to 10.59. Wolter took fourth place with 10.65 ahead of Strasky (10.72).
Steinforth leapt to 7.59m in the long jump to take a lead of 66 points over Wolter, who jumped 7.55m.
Karel Tilga from Estonia, who won the Multistars in Desenzano del Garda and finished fourth at the World Championships in Budapest, decided to test his shape in selected disciplines, took one attempt in the long jump and fouled it.
Tilga threw improved his PB to 16.59m in the shot put missing the meeting record by four centimetres and threw beyond the 16 metres barrier in each of his three rounds. Nils Pittomvils finished second with 15.25m. Nowak threw 14.87m. Steinforth maintained his overall lead with 13.48m.
Novak won the high jump with 2.01m. Steinforth, Wolter, Strasky and Fred Isaac Fleurisson all cleared 1.98m.
Taam clocked the fastest time in the 400 metres in 47.24 to finish ahead of Steinforth, who improved his PB to 47.38, the first time of his career under 48 seconds. Wolter finished third with 47.72.
Steinforth led overnight with 4374 points, 67 ahead of Wolter.
Fleurisson won the 110 metres hurdles in 13.96 ahead of Strasky (14.04). Steinforth won the second race in 14.12 missing his PB by 0.01 to maintain a lead of 123 points over Wolter, who clocked 14.56.
Pittomvils and Wolter improved their PBs to 48.35 and 45.42 respectively in the discus throw. Steinforth maintained his overall lead with 42.18m, but Wolter closed the gap to just 57 points.
Steinforth remained in the lead in the first six events before losing it for the first time after the pole vault, where Wolter equalled his PB to 5.00m, while Steinforth cleared 4.70m. Strasky vaulted 4.90m to hold on his third place. With two events to go Wolter led with 6895 points, 34 ahead of Steinforth.
Steinforth finished second in the javelin throw with a PB of 59.53m behind Leon Mak’s 59.85m. The German athlete returned to the lead in the overall standings with a lead of 78 points over Wolter, who threw 52.03m.
Steinforth improved his PB by more than five seconds to 4:37.73 in the 1500 metres to claim the first place in the overall standing improving his lifetime best by 200 points to 8287. Wolter clocked 4:35.07 to finish runner-up with 8226 points. Strasky clocked 4:47.35 to take third place with 7986 points. Pittomvils placed fourth with 7906.
“An increase of more than 200 points is great. I even had weaker disciplines like the shot put and the pole vault. I hope that my development continues like this, because in four years I want to be at the Olympic Games”, said Steinforth.
Women’s heptathlon:
German 20-year-old Sandrine Sprengel won the women’s heptathlon with her PB of 6260 points. Kate O’Connor from Ireland claimed second place with 6244 points ahead of Australia’s Tori West (6235 points).
Sprengel improved her PB to 13.50 to clock the fifth fastest time in the 100 metres hurdles. Esther Turpin from France won this event with a wind-assisted 13.25 ahead of China’s Zheng Ninali (13.32) and 2017 world silver medallist and two-time Ratingen winner Carolin Schaefer from Germany (13.35).
European under 18 champion Jana Koscak from Croatia won the high jump with 1.81m. Schaefer cleared 1.78m, 5 cm off her PB.
Germany’s Vanessa Grimm won the shot put with 14.43m Schaefer produced the second best throw of the day with 14.40m. O’Connor surpassed the 14 metres barrier with 14.16m. Sprengel improved her PB to 13.28m.
Schaefer was in the lead after three events, 24 points ahead of Sprengel.
Schaefer clocked the second fastest time with 24.17 in the 200 metres into a headwind of -1.8 m/s to end the first day as the overnight leader with 3736, 27 points ahead of Sprengel, who ran 24.21. West won the 200 metres with 24.14 into a headwind of -1.3 m/s. Zhang ran 24.73 to finish third overnight ahead of West.
Schaefer jumped 5.66m in the long jump in the first event of the second day. Sprengel leapt to 6.27m to move into the lead, just 10 cm off her PB. Lucie Kienast achieved the leading mark of 6.35m.
Sprengel improved her PB by more than one metre to 46.03 in the javelin throw. Marie Dehning improved her PB by almost three metres to 56.12m breaking Lilli Scharzkopf’s meeting record. O’Connor threw to 52.12m to move into third place in the overall standing. Sprengel led by 71 points over West, who threw the javelin to 51.74m. Schaefer was in fourth place after her throw of 48.31m.
Sprengel crossed the finish-line with 2:19.25 in the 800 metres to improve her PB to 6260 points. O’Connor clocked the fastest time of 2:14.57 to claim second place with 6244. West took third place with 6235 ahead of Elisa Pineau from France (6000).
Sprengel won the world under 20 bronze in Cali 2022 and the European under 20 in Jerusalem 2023.
“I am overjoyed because I never expected to win. After the 100 metres hurdles I already felt that such a score was possible, because when the hurdles go well, the entire heptathlon usually goes well fo me too”, said Sprengel.
