On Friday evening, Madrid hosted yet another enthralling display of Athletics at its best during the fourth stop on the World Indoor Tour Gold. The night was punctuated time and time again by the setting of new records and personal bests; over the course of the event one European record, seven national records, three world-leads and thirty-eight PBs were added to the books. It was a night to remember both nationally and internationally and it firmly set the tone for the remainder of the indoor season.
National Pride
Two of the night’s standout performances came from Spain’s very own. The event started out on track with the Men’s 60m Hurdles Semi-Final and immediately it was clear that Enrique Llopis had turned up to the competition with a determination and a firm goal in mind. He stormed to Semi-Final victory with a season’s best of 7.49, giving his home crowd an idea of what to expect from him in the final. An hour and a half later, he did one better than that. With an explosive start and faultless form throughout his run, Llopis pulled ahead of the pack and crossed the line with a metre of clearance to the tune of 7.45s and a new Spanish record. It was a delight for the crowd who erupted with cheers for their local hero. At the very end of the competition, they had another key moment to celebrate.
The final event of the night, the men’s 1000m brought with it the Mohamed Attaoui’s hotly anticipated World Record attempt. Attaoui was aiming to dethrone Djibouti Souleiman as World Record title holder by beating his ten-year standing indoor record of 2:14.20 with the help of pacers. His attempt was thrilling and had the entire venue on their feet trying to carry him with their cheers. The pace was looking good with Attaoui staying just ahead of the wave-lights until the final bend but, devastatingly, he crossed the line just .38 seconds slower than his goal. However, while he may not have achieved exactly what he set out to, Attaoui could find great consolation in setting a new European record and the third fastest 1000m time in history. No doubt he will be back to try again in the near future.
The evening in general was a celebration of Spanish athletes; across all events over fifty athletes had the chance to compete in front of their home crowd and many of them excelled, setting personal and season’s bests. It was evident too how strong and extensive the fan support is in Madrid; Gallur’s three thousand seats were almost entirely full, not just of spectators, but of enthusiastic ones and the energy that filled the arena over the course of the evening was both rousing and moving.
An International Stage
While there was a strong focus on the national athletes, the event also highlighted many gifted athletes from around the world who put in stellar performances. The United States had a particularly successful night in the field events, winning two out of three. In the Men’s Shot Put, a national rivalry between Roger Steen and Jordan Geist thrilled the crowd. Over the course of the six rounds, the two men danced between first and second position, overlapping several times. The third throw was when the tables turned most dramatically. Steen let out a roar as his shot flew to 21.88m; the furthest throw thus far and it looked as though that would be enough to tie up the competition. However, mere minutes later, Geist rocketed his shot put to a staggering 22.04m and with it a new World Lead mark. No one was able to match his throw and after an exciting match, Geist took home first place.
Over in the Women’s High Jump, their compatriot Charity Hufnagel found herself in an equally competitive and exciting field. With the starting height set at 1.70m, the jumping commenced and the first few rounds passed by relatively uneventfully. By the time the bar had reached 1.91m however, only four jumpers remained and it was this round where things started to get interesting. Only Maria Zodzik of Poland cleared on her first attempt, while France’s Solène Gicquel and Marija Vucovik of Montenegro crashed out of the competition. At this point it looked as though Zodzik had the event tied up, but in a dramatic turn of events, it was Hufnagel who managed to stay calm and maintain her form when it mattered. After a shaky start at 1.96m, Hufnagal regained her composure and sailed over the bar on her second attempt, winning both the competition and a personal best in the process.
On track, all eyes turned to the Women’s 400m final as perhaps the night’s most prestigious athlete, Leike Klaver of the Netherlands, arrived. An exceptionally talented runner, Klaver has won medals across multiple indoor and outdoor championships both on the European and World circuits. Last year she took home two gold medals for the 400m and 4×4 at the European Indoor Championships. Once again, she demonstrated her excellence in front of the Madrilenian crowd. Running confidently from the start, Klaver quickly settled into a comfortable rhythm, leading the race from the front throughout. With a considerable gap to Blanca Hervas, ESP in second, Klaver cruised round the track, crossing the line in 51.26. It is worth noting though that Hervas ran with an incredible determination and, while she still came in second, she made up a huge amount of ground with a stunning sprint finish, finishing just .33 shy of Klaver.
A Fine Display of Athletics
Overall, the meeting went off with a bang, providing scintillating competition and thorough entertainment for those in attendance. The competitors put in excellent performances across the board, and the number of new records set is a testament to the caliber of those participating. The diversity of athletes was impressive and refreshing, and the event gave a wonderful taste of the exciting season to come.
The next stop on the tour take place on Sunday at the INIT Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe in Germany where athletes including Yaroslava Mahuchik, Georgia Hunter-Bell, Gemma Reekie and Laur Muir will be competitng.
