Kevin Mayer in the heptathlon long jump at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018 (© AFP / Getty Images)
Damian Warner held on to his overall lead after the second event of the heptathlon, but that’s not entirely unexpected as the first two disciplines are among the Canadian’s strongest.
Kevin Mayer, meanwhile, is just two points behind but has three of his strongest disciplines still to come.
Mayer, the world decathlon champion, saved his best for last as he sailed out to an indoor PB of 7.55m with his third and final jump, bringing his points tally to 1883. Warner managed a best of 7.39m.
The biggest surprise of the event, though, came from Germany’s world bronze medallist Kai Kazmirek, who leaped an indoor PB of 7.68m to move into medal contention. Estonia’s Maicel Uibo also exceeded expectations, jumping an indoor PB of 7.41m to enter the fray as a podium contender.
Ukraine’s Oleksiy Kasyanov performed solidly. His 7.43m was the third-best mark of the day and moves him into third overall with 1818 points.
But there were some unfortunate surprises too. Grenada’s Lindon Victor, who exited the decathlon at last year’s World Championships after three fouls in the discus, suffered a similar fate here. He recorded fouls with his first two efforts, then ran through his final jump. His foot was behind the board and it was measured at 5.55m, but he now sits in 12th place overall.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
