Torun (Poland) (AFP) – Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer set a new world record for the men’s heptathlon at the world indoor championships in Torun, Poland, on Saturday. The Swiss accrued a total of 6,670 points over seven events, beating the previous best of 6,645 points set by American Ashton Eaton at the 2012 world indoors in Istanbul.
Over two days of competition, Ehammer topped the 60m (in 6.69 sec), long jump (8.15m), 60m hurdles (7.52), and pole vault (5.30m) while also performing well in the shot put (14.87m) and high jump (2.02m). That left him within range come the seventh and final event, the lung-busting 1,000m.
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The 26-year-old, who was fourth in the long jump at both last year’s world outdoors in Tokyo and the Paris Olympics, did not disappoint. He clocked 2min 41.04sec to seal a comprehensive victory and a new record by just 25 points. Ehammer said it was a “dream come true.”
“I badly wanted to improve my European record here but it was difficult to imagine that the world record would be possible as well,” said the Swiss athlete, who dropped out of the decathlon at the Paris Games after failing to register a mark in the high jump. “I went through all events fighting for my goal, starting from the first one.”
“Just look at my second day of competition – a personal best over the hurdles kicked me off. I fought for every single height in the pole vault. It was not easy to clear 5.10m, 5.20m and 5.30m at my third attempts. I am very grateful for all guys in the field – we were in a great fight and it motivated me a lot.”
The American duo of Heath Baldwin (6,337pts) and Kyle Garland (6,245) completed the podium after two days of thrilling competition. Baldwin said that seeing a world record “pushes the needle” for all the athletes in the field.
“Seeing Simon do that in the competition you are in makes everybody think that maybe we all can do it too,” he said. “He is really promoting the sport and improving it for everybody. Congratulations to him, I am really happy for him.”
© 2024 AFP
