By Ulrike Krieger
The sports fans in Berlin had to decide on Sunday afternoon, either to the Union football stadium or to the ISTAF in the Olympic Stadium…
Despite the fan competition and the World Cup debacle (Germany went without a medal), 34,500 fans came to the world’s oldest track and field meeting and celebrated another big track and field party.
No sign of seasonal fatigue: The world record holder over 10,000 meters, Letesenbet Gidey (25), wants to know, is going on a world record hunt at the ISTAF. To make the race really fast, her team installed the so-called “wave lights” in the Olympic Stadium for the first time. These colored LED lights act as additional pacemakers.
The spectators stand and shout at the super runner from Ethiopia. In the end, Gidey missed the world record (14:05, 20 minutes) by just 3 seconds, but set a new meeting record in 14:08.62: “Everything was great, the pace was perfect. But it was a little too windy for a better time.“
The international stars provide further brilliance: Olympic champion Valarie Allman (USA) throws the discus to 70.47 meters – world best performance of the year. The 100 meter hurdles wins world champion Danielle Williams (12.71 / Jamaica).
There are also four great German victories: Potsdam’s Jean Paul Bredau (24) wins over 400 meters, ran under 45 seconds (44.96) for the first time, faster than any German man in 18 years. Joshua Abuaku (27) wins over 400 meters hurdles with a personal best (48.12 seconds), Joshua Hartmann (24) wins over 200 meters (20.14) and Julian Weber is javelin winner 84.09 meters.