Heptathlete Sophie Weißenberg is within striking distance of the bronze medal after the first day of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
On Saturday in the Hungarian capital, the woman from Leverkusen took fifth place after four disciplines with 3877 points.
Third is the American Chari Hawkins before the final disciplines on Sunday. She is 23 points ahead of 25-year-old Weißenberg. The American favorite Anna Hall leads with 3998 points.
After three disciplines, Frankfurt’s Carolin Schäfer (31), Vice World Champion from 2017, had to finish the competition in eleventh place. The German Athletics Association cited knee problems for the end. Previously, the EM third Annik Kälin from Switzerland had dropped out ill.
Vanessa Grimm (Königstein/26), who successfully fought back after tearing a cruciate ligament, ended Saturday in 15th place with 3599 points. For the first time since 2015, three German athletes were represented in a World Championship heptathlon.
Weißenberg came close to the best time over the 100-meter hurdles, which started late due to a storm, and achieved a personal best of 1.86 meters in the high jump. 13.97 meters in the shot put meant the best performance of the season. She then sprinted the 200 meters in 23.88 seconds.