Five takeaways for day 4
There was controversy when Audrey Werro fell in the 800m semi-final and was then reinstated. There was criticism that it was a political decision to avoid losing the most anticipated final, Hodgkinson v Werro. Later video evidence emerged to show that the left hand of France’s Anaïs Bourgoin inadvertently caught Werro’s right foot. Justice was done and the right decision made for the right reason.
Leo Neugebauer won the decathlon, the two-day competition that reveals the best all-round athlete in terms of running, hurdling, jumping, vaulting, and throwing – skill and stamina across the whole range. Some athletes get a gold medal for 10 seconds’ work while others compete for 2 days for theirs. They even had to clear 4.70 twice in the pole vault when the officials wrongly set the bar at 4.70 a second time rather than at 4.80. Neugebauer gained 8611 points.
As the temperature unexpectedly rose into the 90s, athletes found novel ways to keep cool. First prize went to Yaroslava Mahuchikh’s ice hat. Officials were also seen putting ice in the steeplechase water jump to cool it down.
There was German success and drama in the women’s steeplechase with Gesa Krause winning in 9:12.69 with Olivia Gürth third in 9:15.33. Lea Meyer was fourth in 9:17.07 despite falling in the water jump on the last lap.
