Kevin Mayer in the decathlon javelin at the IAAF World Championships London 2017 (© Getty Images)
Kevin Mayer still has one decathlon discipline to go but has already surpassed the 8000-point barrier.
A 66.10m throw in the javelin has given him a tally of 8067, while his lead has increased to 173 points. That translates to about 25 seconds in 1500m terms, and no one in the decathlon field has a 1500m PB 25 seconds quicker than Mayer’s.
German duo Rico Freimuth and Kai Kazmirek are currently separated by 98 points after throwing 62.34m and 62.45m respectively in the javelin. Kazmirek is the better 1500m runner, but Freimuth just needs to finish within 15 seconds of his compatriot in the 1500m to hold on to the silver medal.
Janek Oiglane was the top performer in the javelin. The animated Estonian threw a lifetime best of 71.73m and darted around the throwing area in celebration. He sits in fourth place overall and could well maintain that by the end of the decathlon.
Olympic bronze medallist Damian Warner slipped further out of medal contention. The Canadian threw 56.63m to remain in fifth place overall and, sitting 132 points adrift of Oiglane, may find it difficult to move up the leader board.
Grenada’s Kurt Felix was some way off his best in the javelin, but his throw of 64.64m was enough to move up one place overall to sixth.
Other top performers in the javelin included Adam Sebastian Helcelet, who threw a PB of 71.56m, and Britain’s Ashley Bryant, who set a season’s best of 67.97m.
With a throw of just 50.82m, Ukraine’s Oleksiy Kasyanov dropped from fourth to eighth overall.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
