by Larry EderThe 2023 European Athletics Indoors was a crazy hot night in the evening session. Lots of surprises, and a good crowd enjoyed the third night of track & field in Istanbul, Turkey.
2023 European Indoors, Day 2, Evening 2
Men’s 60m semi-finals
semi 1/3 Samuel Ceccarelli, ITA, the man who won the Italian Indoor 60m from Marcell Jacobs, ran 6.47, EL q. Reece Prescod, GBR, ran 6.52q, Jan Volko, SVK, 6.58q, Dominik Kopec, POL< 6.59a all move on.
semi 2/3, Henrik Larsson, SWE, took semi 2, equalling NR in 6.56q, Jeremiah Azu, GBR, 6.59q move to final.
semi 3/3, Marcell Jacobs won semi 3, in 6.52q SB, but winced, and it looks like a calf issue, will he show up for final? Markus Fuchs ran race of life, 6.60 PB to move on. Tough rounds.
Women’s 800m, semi-final
semi 1/2, Keely Hodgkinson lead from start to finish, hitting the 400m in 58.8 and running 2:00.05 for the win, one day after her 21st birthday. Audrey Werro, SUI moved on, 2nd in 2:00.19q, Lorea Ibarzabal, ESP, 2:01.25q.
Semi 2/2, it all came down to the last straightaway, hitting 400m in 61.18, Anita Horvat, SLO, taking the win in 2:03.11q, Lore Hoffman coming from behind, taking 2nd in 2:03.19q, Eloisa Coiro, ITA, 2:03.31q. Isabel Boffey, GBR moved up, was bumped, fell back.
Men’s 800m semi-final,
Semi 1, Benjamin Robert FRA looking great, 1:47.11q, and amazing Amel Tuka, BIH, 1:47.53q, and Catalin Tecuceanu, ITA, 1:47.53q
Semi 2, Fast semi-final, Ben Adrian, ESP, 1:46.83, Elliot Crestan, BEL, 1:46.83qSB, Andreas Kramer, SWE, 1:47.11, q, (yellow card), Simone Barontini, ITA, 1:47.13q, Guy Learmouth, GB, 1:47.50q,
Andreas Kramer, SWE went on inside and got a warning; Amel Tuka in heat 1 looked amazing.
Women’s 1,500m final,
Claudia Bobocea, ROU won her first medal in European championships in a tough race, Leading through 400m in 64.14, and 800m in 2:10; Bobocea led until 1100, when Laura Muir, moving from last to menacing in third, took control. Rumors of Laura Muir Being sick were soon eliminated, as she broke the field and took her third gold medal in the Euro indoor 1,500m in 4:03.40, Claudia Bobocea, ROU, 4:03.76 PB, and Sofia Ennui, POL, ran 4:04.06 PB for the bronze.
Women’s Pole Vault
Finland rejoices once again, as Wilma Murto takes gold in the pole vault! Wilma, the 2022 European Outdoor champs (and outdoor PV NR holder) cleared 4.45m, 4.60m, 4.70m all on first attempts, 4.75m on third, 4.80m on first, missed once at 4.85m, passed, then, two attempts on 4.91m.
Wilma Murto told the media: ”
I felt very good coming into this competition and the qualification yesterday gave me a lot of self confidence. What I would like to say about Tina Sutej – she is an athlete who definitely would deserve more than a silver but I am not going to give in a championships. I just really like competing with her and it has been a pleasure this season. I was very happy with my jumps today and I also went for bigger poles I have never used before so that was a big thing for me today.”
Tina Sutej, SLO, took silver, clearing 4.45m on the first, 4.60m on the second, 4.70m on the second, and 4.75m on the second.
My jumping was a little inconsistent today. I was switching poles a lot, but I did a few really good jumps. Even the last jump at 4.85m was a good one. I am just annoyed because I can jump this height. After Wilma (Murto) took the lead, I went for the next height, obviously. Jumping 4.80m wouldn’t bring me gold, so that’s why I skipped it. I am a little bit disappointed and pissed because I knew that I could win the gold because I had been the best European pole vaulter the whole indoor season, and today I am second. I will appreciate this medal maybe tomorrow or next week, but today I am just a little bit sad disappointed, and mad at myself. I do appreciate it, like I do with every medal, but I would be happier with the gold.
Amalie Svabikova, CZE, took the bronze, cleared 4.25m, 4.45m, 4.60m on the first, 4.70m on the third, and 4.75m on three attempts.
Former Euro champ, and Olympic champ Katerina Stefanidi, GRE, cleared 4.45m and 4.60m on the first attempt, then missed three times at 4.70m.
Men’s 400-meter
Karsten Warholm took gold, defending his 400m title with a swift 45.35. Julian Watrin, BEL, came oh so close to stealing the race from Warholm, running an NR of 45.44. Carl Bergstrom, SWE, running a great race, took bronze in 45.77.
Women’s 400-meter
Femke Bol is the finest 400m in Europe and showed more than that tonight. Running 49.85 for gold in the 400 meters, Leike Klaver, NED, her teammate, took silver in 50.57, and Anna Kielbasinska, the POL, took bronze in 51.25 SB.
What I like about Femke Bol is how relaxed and focused that she is in her racing. She ran well in the first lap, cut in well, and sped away from teammate Leike Klaver and the Polish star, Anna Kielbasinska.
Men’s 60-meter
Samuel Ceccarelli ran his perfect race in the final of the Men’s 60 meters and took the win in 6.48. Marcell Jacobs, Olympic champ, obviously scraped up, possibly a calve issue, had a slow start, and fought past third into silver, running 6.50, and quickly walked over to the Italian team doctor. Henrik Larsson ran an NR in 6.53 to take the bronze!
An overjoyed Ceccarelli, whose PB at 100m is 10.45, spoke about his victory and affection for his teammate, Marcell Jacobs, “To become the European champion – that sounds great, and I am over the moon because it is the first time in the Italian senior team, my first time competing at such championships, and the first win. So I could not be happier than this. My hair – it is not a very good shape for this, but in Italy, we have like a tradition – when a boy or girl joins a senior team for the first time, we have to shave a bit of hair to let everyone know that we are the new ones. Actually, I do not know about Jacobs’s health, but he will check it with doctors for sure and let others know. He was happy for me and said a few words in the finish. We keep the gold medal at home in Italy, so he was happy for me. He is like my big brother.”
Marcell Jacobs noted of a tough day in the office: “This is not the medal that I wanted; I obviously wanted the gold. My leg wasn’t the best today; it was really tough today. My teammate did great. I am the captain of the Italian national team, and I am satisfied with the medals we brought to the team. Now is the end of the indoor season, so my focus is on the outdoors. I will try to recover from the hamstring injury as soon as possible and get back to the track.”
