Meeting in Götzis

Mayr ahead of Dadic in heptathlon eleventh at half-time

Ivona Dadic (left), Verena Mayr

(Bild: APA/EXPA/PETER RINDERER)

Austria's heptathletes Verena Mayr and Ivona Dadic are just behind the top ten in eleventh and twelfth place after day one of the all-around meeting in Götzis after the first of two days and four events respectively. In the battle for the Austrian championship title and good points for a European Championship and Olympic start, Mayr also gained a bonus of 34 points on Dadic on Saturday with 3,653 points. Michelle Atherley (USA/3,944) and Simon Ehammer (SUI/4,601) are in the lead.

The 28-year-old Atherley set a meeting record right at the start of the athletics classic in the 100 m hurdles, beating the Olympic limit in 12.71 seconds, and none of her 25 rivals beat her 1.80 m in the high jump. Only 13.67 m in the shot put prevented an even greater lead than the 118 points over Anouk Vetter, the Dutchwoman is six points ahead of the third-placed Briton Abigail Pawlett. Atherley impressed in the 200 m with a time of 23.53 seconds.

Mayr "very happy"
Mayr did not come close to her best times in the Mösle Stadium (13.71 sec./1.74 m(14.26 m/24.65 sec.), but she was satisfied. "I'm very happy that it went like this. They were good performances, but not perfect yet. I could have done better in the hurdles and high jump." She doesn't want to dwell too much on the overall result or the duel with Dadic, as the Upper Austrian revealed in the ORF interview.

(Bild: APA/EXPA/PETER RINDERER)

"Good finish" for Dadic
Her closer compatriot Dadic is relying less on the 800 m in the three remaining disciplines for Sunday, but on the long jump and javelin throw instead. "It was a good finish. I can go to bed with a good feeling," she said after her 23.92 over 200 m. Before that, she had clocked 13.56 seconds, 1.62 m and 14.56 m - the third biggest shot put distance in the field - in her first Götzis appearance in seven years. "I want to stay in my zone and focus on that. If I have a bit of pressure, then it works a bit better."

Posch 15th.
Isabel Posch finished 15th out of five Austrians, with the Vorarlberg native recording 3,522 points (13.62/1.65/13.09/24.21). "The performance was really solid," said the local heroine. "I'm quite happy with everything." Her close compatriot Chiara-Belinda Schuler came 18th with 3,433 points (13.68/1.59/13.69/24.73). Sarah Lagger is only 21st with 3,270 points (14.76/1.74/13.08/26.43), the Carinthian had been struggling with her lumbar spine in preparation. "The high jump was a bit of a ray of hope, everything else was bad."

In the men's event, Ehammer outdid favorite Damian Warner with top performances over 100 m (10.34 sec.) and in the long jump (8.25 m). The Canadian was the fastest over 100 m in 10.20 sec. and with 4,585 points is 16 points behind the Swiss. "That was the big goal," said Ehammer about his lead. However, he does not expect to be able to keep Warner behind him. "A lot would have to happen." Warner was confident of victory, but also respectful: "Simon is an incredible athlete." Ashley Moloney (AUS/4,477) is third, no ÖLV athlete at the start.