Hypo Meeting Gotzis Day 1: Hall on course to break 7000p barrier, Warner leads decathlon

Anna Hall is on course to breaking the 7000 points barrier at the 48th edition of the Hypo Meeting at the Moesle Stadium in Goetzis after ending the first day in the lead with 4172 points. Only Jackie Joyner Kersee has collected more points after the first day.

Hall has the chance to improve the meeting record set by Belgian Nafissatou Thiam with 7013 points in 2017. She could even score 7100 points on Sunday. This score has been surpassed by Joyner Kersee in the 1980s.  

Hall set three PBs during an outstanding first day in the 100 metres hurdles, in the high jump and in the 200 metres and is 150 points ahead of her best first day score set during the World Championships in Eugene, where she won the bronze medal with 6755 points. 

Hall stormed to a PB of 12.75 in the 100 metres hurdles improving Nadine Visser’s meeting record by 0.03. The 22-year-old US star beat her compatriot Taliyah Brooks, who set her seasonal best of 12.85. Adriana Rodriguez from Cuba also dipped under the 13 seconds to place third with 12.97 ahead of Adrianna Sulek from Poland (13.18). 

Hall improved her PB to 1.92m in her first attempt in the high jump to take the lead in the overall standing with 2294 points. After producing a best mark of 13.92m in the shot put Hall clocked the fastest time in the 200 metres storming to a PB of 22.88. 

“The fast time in the 100 metres hurdles is a combination between the fast track and the energy from the fans”, said Hall. “I expected to run a fast time as I clocked 12.95 in Atlanta three weeks ago. I had a training session with Grant Holloway. I am not focusing on the score, but on one event at the time. My goal for tomorrow is just to keep having fun. Hopefully I can reach 7000 points but first I want to have a good sleep tonight”. 

Adrianna Sulek ended day one in second place with 3936 points. The Polish athlete is just six points ahead of two-time Goetzis winner Katarina Johnson Thompson.

Sulek set a PB in the shot put with 14.44m and finished third in the 200m with 23.80 and fourth in the 100m hurdles in 13.18 and in the high jump with 1.83m. 

Katarina Johnson Thompson recovered from a slow start in the 100 metres hurdles, where she clocked 13.88, to set a PB of 13.92m in the shot put. The 2019 world champion also cleared 1.89m in the high jump and clocked 23.26 in the 200 metres. KJT sits in third place in the overall standing with 3990 points achieving her best opening day score since winning the world title in Doha 2019.