by Stuart Weir
Mondo Duplantis, photo via TV by Stuart Weir
Sam Kendricks, photo via TV by Stuart Weir
This is column 1 on The 2021 ISTAF Dűsseldorf, held 31 Jan 2021, by Stuart Weir.
The ISTAF Dűsseldorf Indoor Meeting
The ISTAF Dűsseldorf Indoor Meeting on Sunday may only have had six events but the quality was superlative throughout.
The first event to start and the last to finish was the Men’s Pole Vault. Mondo Duplantis won with 6:01m, failing in his one attempt at his next height (6.19m). Second was Torben Blech with a PR of 5.86m. Sam Kendricks was third with 5.81m.
He calls it a day. That 6.01m is Mondo’s 19th 6.00m career vault. He’s now close to equalling Lavillenie’s tally (though still some way to go to match Bubka).
46 Bubka
20 Lavillenie
19 Duplantis
7 Tarasov
7 Gataullin
7 Hartwig— Jon Mulkeen (@Statman_Jon) January 31, 2021
An interesting stat from John Mulkeen at World Athletics is Mondo has now cleared six meters 19 times, behind only Renaud Lavillenie (20) and Sergei Bubka (46)
Mondo Duplantis, photo via TV by Stuart Weir
Mondo, who started his 2020 season with a six meter leap in Düsseldorf, commented: “Me in Düsseldorf, me in Germany, I don’t know – there is just something special when I am here and I feel like I always seem to jump high and get over six metres. It felt really good to be back competing. Of course, I felt a little rusty and the run needed a little bit more work on the consistency but I am really happy with the 6.01m, the world lead, and it seems like things are going in the right direction.
Sam Kendricks, photo via TV by Stuart Weir
“There’s such a difference between six metres and when you start getting to like 6.19m, the world record, and I just felt inconsistent on my run. I knew what I needed to do and what kind of bigger poles I need to get on to make 6.19m and I just didn’t have that in me today so I said ‘I’ll live to see another day.'”
Blech was delighted to jump a PB in his home country, albeit with no home crowd, commenting: “I knew that I could clear such heights. I am extremely relieved, that I could show today, what I am capable of. After my perfect season in 2019, last year was more difficult. We have been able to work hard and train well and I knew that I had it in me, I just needed to show it. Physically I am as fit as never before. It was a new situation for me to be the only one left competing against Mondo and to finish second”.
When you have Europe’s three best women long-jumpers – you are in for a treat. Germany’s world and European champion Malaika Mihambo won on countback as she and Sweden’s Khaddi Sagnia both leapt 6.74m. Mihambo achieved her winning mark in the second round while Sagnia matched the distance with her last leap of the competition but the German backed her performance up with a 6.73m jump in round five to claim the win. Serbia’s world indoor champion Ivana Å panović was third with 6.61m.
Malaika commented: “After eleven months, today I did my first competition with a long run-up. It was a solid start into the season, it felt good. Before the last jump, I changed my run-up a bit, because until then I hadn’t been able to perfectly meet the take-off board. Unfortunately, the last jump was a foul, because it would have been a long one. My coach took a picture that showed that the jump went far beyond the 7 meters. This makes me confident for the competitions to come. The atmosphere of the ISTAF is always great, also here in Düsseldorf. They let us choose our favorite music and the setting is amazing. Now I have to get more stable and am very much looking forward to Friday, where I want to jump even further”.
