Heptathlete Sophie Weißenberg is within striking distance of the bronze medal after a very good first day at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Carolin Schäfer gave up before the final 200 m race, Vanessa Grimm can be satisfied.
Weißenberg has 3,877 points after four disciplines and is in fifth place overnight. Only 23 points separate the 25-year-old from bronze. “I’m happy,” said Weißenberg, who was particularly strong in the high jump with a personal best of 1.86 m.
Shot put “a little thriller”
She had to tremble during the shot put, but improved her wobbling discipline significantly in the third attempt: With 13.97 m, she came very close to the targeted 14 m mark – best performance of the season. “I’m so happy that the shot put ended like this, it was a little thriller,” she told ARD.
With her 23.88 seconds over the final 200 m and 13.58 seconds at the start over 100 m hurdles, she was at least on target. The long jump continues on Sunday at 9.50 a.m. (live in the first and on Sportschau.de) – one of Weißenberg’s parade disciplines.
Schäfer no longer competes
Carolin Schäfer (Frankfurt) did not compete in the final 200m race on the first day for health reasons and gave up. The German Athletics Association (DLV) reported knee problems. The vice world champion from 2017 was in eleventh place after the shot put with 2,770 points. Previously, the EM third Annik Kälin from Switzerland had left.
Vanessa Grimm (Königstein) ranks 15th before the final three disciplines with 3,599 points. For the 26-year-old, 2023 is a year of transition after a partial cruciate ligament tear with a view to the Olympic Games in Paris. For the first time since 2015, three German athletes were represented in a World Championship heptathlon.
Favorite Hall at the top
Top favorite Anna Hall is in the lead, the American has collected 3,998 points so far. Vice World Champion Anouk Vetter (Netherlands) is currently seventh, but can still catch up on the second day. Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam (Belgium) is not at the start due to injury.
It works at Weißenberg
Things went really smoothly for Weißenberg in Budapest on the first day. “I’m super happy that I was able to jump 1.86 m now. I’d tried it once before this year, so it wasn’t impossible. When I tried it today, I said to myself: You’re not going here away without this best performance,” said the 25-year-old on ARD after the high jump.
Once she tried (in vain) 1.89 m, then she packed up. “The coaches said right away, better leave it and save the grains, but I wanted to try it if the chance was there,” said the Leverkusen player.
Thunderstorm delays start
In 13.58 seconds, she just missed the target time of under 13.5 seconds in the 100 m hurdles. She had set her personal best of 13.46 seconds this year in Götzis.
“I’m basically satisfied with the hurdles. Of course it was difficult with the hour delay. We then sat there in our little room and waited. When does it start? Does it start at all?” She said. Because of a storm, the heptathlon started with a one-hour delay on Saturday morning.