The programme of Day 4 commenced with heats of men´s 800m. Marino Bloudek of Croatia confirmed that he is really going throught the season of lifetime. From the very beggining he kept up with the front group of runners and managed to finish strongly afterwards. The effort resulted in a time of 1:44.78 which meant a big Q for the 26-year-old.
In women´s triple jump qualifucation, Neja FIlipič finished 4th in the group A, leaping to 14.05m and qualified for her first global final.
In the semifinals of men´s 400m, Attila Molnár and Kirani James put on an effort. The Hungarian began strongly, and battled for the final until homestretch. The result of 44.94 was just enough for fifth place. Kirani James of Grenada repeated Atti´s plan and was leading after 300m. The last part of the race, however, did notgo as planned and Kirani finished seventh with 44.97 in a super-strong heat.
In the men´s hammer final, the Hungarian throwing tradition was well represented. Dániel Rába hit 75.22m and took 11th position overall.
World leader and a bronze medallist from home soil two years ago, Bence Halász, began with strong 81.51m attempt. In third series, he improved to 82.69m. At this point, we were watching possibly the strongest hammer final in history and Bence was ranked third. With two attempts left, he had an eminent desire to battle for the top spot. The outcome of the effort were two over-80 throws. Despite this, he did not improve his position, but ended the competition as a world bronze medallist! A great success and reliability by the Hungarian.
Czech high jumper Jan Štefela produced a performance full of courage and consistency on the biggest stage, securing a bronze medal in the men’s high jump final.
The Czech talent entered the competition with confidence, clearing both 2.20m and 2.24m on his first attempts. Trouble came at 2.28m, where two early failures left him facing elimination. Showing the heart of a fighter, Štefela nailed his third attempt and kept his medal hopes alive.
Riding the momentum, he then cleared 2.31m on his second try. At 2.34m, three athletes remained in the battle. New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr and Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo succeeded, but Štefela’s clean record up to that point gave him the advantage — securing the bronze medal.
Congratulations to all.
