Vetter joins Zelezny as only athletes to surpass 320 feet, in addition to being the only pair to both achieve multiple throws beyond 310 feet in the same series at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow; Crouser has five more 22-meter shot put marks, with Stahl extending discus winning streak to 14 in a row

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Ryan Crouser and Daniel Stahl have been two of the most impressive throwers in the world this year, but even their strong performances were overshadowed Sunday by the memorable effort of Germany’s Johannes Vetter at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, the Continental Tour Gold event in Poland.

Vetter produced the best javelin throw in 24 years, launching the spear 320 feet, 9 inches (97.76m) in the third round at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzow for the No. 2 mark in history.

Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic achieved the world record, also in the third round, with a throw of 323-1 (98.48m) on May 25, 1996, at the Zeiss Meeting in Jena, Germany.

RESULTS

Vetter, 27, had produced the best mark since Zelezny’s all-time standard, a throw of 309-10 (94.44m) in 2017 in Lucerne, Switzerland.

He joined Zelezny in becoming the only athletes with a pair of throws beyond 310 feet in the same series, following up his lifetime-best effort with a mark of 311-2 (94.84m) in the fourth round.

Zelezny had throws of 313-10 (95.66m) and 312-9 (95.34m) during his series in 1993 in Sheffield, England, the only time an athlete has achieved multiple 95-meter efforts in the same competition. His second-best throw during his record-setting competition in Jena was 304-8 (92.88m).

After becoming the first shot putter in history with six throws over 22 meters in the same competition Aug. 29 at the Drake Blue Oval Showcase in Des Moines, Iowa, Crouser nearly duplicated the feat Sunday in his first international competition of the year.

Although he fouled his fifth-round attempt, Crouser still had five marks beyond 73 feet, winning with a third-round effort of 74-5.75 (22.70m). Fellow American Nick Ponzio placed sixth with a third-round mark of 67-8.25 (20.63m).

Crouser boasts the top 19 outdoor marks in the world this year. Including the indoor season, he has produced 23 throws beyond 22 meters, with the rest of his global competitors yet to achieve one.

Sweden’s Daniel Stahl extended his winning streak in the discus to 14 in a row with a sixth-round throw of 220-9 (67.28m).

Despite producing only one fair throw, Poland’s Pawel Fajdek improved to No. 4 in the world this year in the men’s hammer with a second-round effort of 261-10 (79.81m). Fellow Polish athlete Wojciech Nowicki, one of only two athletes in the world this year to surpass 80 meters, was second with a fourth-round throw of 258-9 (78.88m).

France’s Alexandra Tavernier, already No. 2 in the world this year in the women’s hammer at 245-10 (74.94m), added another 74-meter effort in the third round. Tavernier had four of the five best marks in the competition, highlighted by a third-round throw of 243-2 (74.12m).

Scotland’s Laura Muir wasn’t able to improve on her world-leading mark in the 1,500 meters, but did achieve the 14th sub-4 outdoor performance in her career by clocking 3:58.24.

Muir, who ran 3:57.86 on Aug. 23 at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Stockholm, has run the top six 1,500 performances and eight of the top 10 marks ever produced by British female athletes.

Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui became the second female performer to run sub-4 this season, clocking 3:59.70 to place second. Romania’s Claudia Bobocea was third in 4:01.31, elevating to No. 5 in the world.

Ennaoui elevated to No. 3 all-time in Poland, trailing a 3:59.22 from Lidia Chojecka in 2000 and a 3:59.67 by Anna Bukis in 1981. Bobocea improved more than a second from the 4:02.67 she had run three days earlier at the Meeting de Marseille in France.

Poland’s Justyna Swiety-Ersetic won the women’s 400 in 51.33, edging Dutch talent Lieke Klaver (51.61). Swiety-Ersetic elevated to the No. 6 outdoor performer in the world this year.

Another Polish standout, Maria Andrejczyk, set the meet record in the women’s javelin with a first-round throw of 215-6 (65.70m), ascending to No. 4 in the world this season.

Polish pole vaulter Piotr Lisek prevailed against American Sam Kendricks, clearing 19-1 (5.82m) on his first attempt. Kendricks managed only 18-9.25 (5.72m), deciding to pass to 19-5 (5.92m) for his final two attempts after missing his first opportunity at 19-1.

Yuliya Levchenko emerged victorious in a showdown of Ukrainian high jumpers, clearing 6-3.50 (1.92m) on her second attempt to edge Iryna Herashchenko after both athletes had cleared 6-2.25 (1.89m).

Portugal’s Auriole Dongmo held off Marketa Cervenkova of the Czech Republic in the women’s shot put by one centimeter. Dongmo produced a fourth-round mark of 60-1.75 (18.33m) after Cervenkova established herself as the early leader with an effort of 60-1.25 (18.32m) on her first attempt.

Elvira Herman of Belarus edged Dutch athlete Nadine Visser by a 12.87 to 12.95 margin in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Dutch star Dafne Schippers triumphed in the women’s 100-meter dash in 11.29, ahead of Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (11.34) and Switzerland’s Ajla del Ponte (11.35).

Poland’s Karol Zalewski held on to win the men’s 400 by a 45.74 to 45.78 margin over Dutch talent Jochem Dobber, with Kenya’s Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich leading six athletes under 1:46 in the men’s 800, prevailing in 1:45.30.