men's heptathlon
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Ken Mullins knows he's the surprising world leader ahead of the men's heptathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow on Wednesday.
The Bahamian native made a big jump into the 8,000 mark last year, setting a personal record of 8,060 points in the decathlon. But the 26-year-old's progress this indoor season has been even more remarkable.
At the heptathlon held in Illinois in late January, Mullins set personal records in six of the seven events and won with a new national record of 6,340 points. Not only did the 26-year-old jump to 21st place on the world indoor all-time rankings, but it also helped him become the first Bahamian athlete to win a world combined medal.
But there will be one man in Glasgow with an even better personal record than Mullins and plenty of motivation.
Simon Ehammer won silver in Belgrade two years ago with a new Swiss record of 6363, and later that year won bronze in the world long jump and silver in the European decathlon. However, despite being a talented long jumper, his discipline is also his weakness in the combined events, where he recorded three no-jumps at last year's European Indoors and Hypo Meetings.
But it's a new year, and it's a chance for Ehammer to exorcise those demons before turning his attention to the outdoor season.
Simon Ehamer, decathlon long jumper at the Belgrade 22 World Athletics Indoor Championships (© Getty Images)
The domestic rivalry between Norway's Sander Skotheim and Markus Roos has led to both athletes breaking each other's national decathlon records outdoors in recent years. Roos scored 8307 points in 2022, which was broken by Skotheim with 8590 points early last year, but Roos regained the record and won the European U23 title with 8608 points.
Both will be held in Glasgow, but Scotheim probably has a slight advantage given that Ruth has never competed in the heptathlon at a major indoor championship. Skotheim won the European indoor silver medal last year with 6,318 points and has scored 6,281 points so far this season.
Makenson Gretty, who won at Decaster late last year, has started the year on a high, no doubt inspired by the prospect of a home Olympics later this year. The French all-rounder scored 6,230 points in Aubieres at the end of January, adding 140 points to his personal record and potentially putting him in the medal range.
Three years after becoming the first under-20 athlete in history to break 6,000 points in the junior heptathlon, Jente Houtekeete broke that record in senior equipment, winning the Belgian indoor title with 6,131 points. The 2021 European U20 Champion will be making his senior international championship debut.
Estonia's 2019 NCAA decathlon champion Johannes Elm will also compete in the heptathlon for the first time at a major indoor championship. Herm, whose decathlon personal record was 8,484 at last year's World Championships, has a heptathlon personal record of 6,114 going back to 2020.
US decathlon champion Harrison Williams has not competed in the heptathlon since 2019, when he won the NCAA indoor title with 6,042 points. But since then, he has added nearly 500 points to his decathlon personal record, so his indoor best is likely due to a major revision.
Other players entered include Sven Jansons from the Netherlands and the Czech duo Ondrej Kopecky and Willem Stráski.
Women's pentathlon
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Noor Wits could become the first woman to win two world pentathlon gold medals if she defends her title at the 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
In the absence of fellow Belgian Olympic champion and indoor world record holder Nafissatou Thiam, world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson and 2023 world leader Anna Hall, Witz starts as favorites to win gold in Glasgow I will do it.
That doesn't mean she'll win everything, though, as world leader Maria Vicente will be fighting for her first senior world title.
Wits has not competed in the pentathlon so far this year, but has shown decent form in the 60m hurdles (8.26m), long jump (6.37m) and shot put (13.75m), all of which are likely to qualify for the World Championships. It's not far away. She reached a level that qualified her to compete in her 2022 World Indoor Championships, winning gold with a 4929.
The Belgian, who finished fourth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, will likely need a multi-season best in Glasgow to thwart the challenge of Vicente, who broke his Spanish record with 4,728 earlier this year. There will be.
Vicente's series included PRs of 13.84 meters in the show and 2:15.50 in the 800 meters. Since then, she has improved her personal record in the 60 meter hurdles to 8.06, matching her indoor high jump personal record of 1.80 meters.
Vicente and Witz both have championship track records, often producing personal and season bests in the heptathlon and pentathlon at major championships, setting the stage for an exciting showdown between the two in Glasgow. ing.
Behind Vits and Vicente, there are many athletes with personal bests or season bests in the 4,500-4,600 range, and any of them could challenge for a medal.
Austria's 2019 World Championship bronze medalist Verena Meyer will make her World Indoor Championships debut. The 29-year-old has fond memories of Glasgow, where she scored her pentathlon PB of 4637 at the 2019 European Indoor Games. She recently won her national title with 4525.
Verena Meyer (née Planer) heptathlon shot putter at the 2019 World Championships (© Getty Images)
Hungary's 2021 World U20 Bronze Medalist Shabina Such improved her personal record this year to 4588, just ahead of Sophie Doktel (4553) on the entry list. However, the Dutch all-rounder has a better PB 4603 and is also a good outdoor heptathlete.
Sveva Zhereviny added almost 100 points to her Italian pentathlon record this year with 4538 points, while Yuliya Lovan of Ukraine (4537 points) and Bianca Salming of Sweden (4533 points) also added this year. He set a personal record.
Finland's Saga Vaninen, a two-time U20 heptathlon world champion, may also be a player to watch, especially as she boasts a personal record of 16.12 meters in the shot put.
Also included in the lineup are Chari Hawkins from the US, Jana Koscak from Croatia, and Abigail Paulette from the UK.
John Malkin of World Athletics