The hammer circle in Rieti produced more magic with Czechia’s Josef Pazdera throwing more than three metres further than his PB to take the gold with a national U18 record and world U18 lead of 79.07m.
His performance was so incredible he threw far enough to win the competition five times, with his shortest throw coming from the first round.
He took gold ahead of Greece’s Petros Kassavitas who also threw a PB of 75.24m, and Finland’s Janne Verho who threw 74.37m for bronze.
"I feel so good, I did not expect this performance. Today, I started with a solid attempt in the first round with 71 metres - I wanted to make sure it is a valid attempt and did not push too much," said Padzera.
"Then, I started to be more relaxed. The circle was really good so I knew it was going to be perfect.
"Also, I saw it in training that I was in shape. But I did not expect the shape to be so big that I was able to break the national best from Lukas Melich, that is a huge throw. It is a big motivation for me to continue the hard work.
"I started with the hammer when I was 12, five years ago thank to my brother who got me into this sport. My brother used to be 5000m runner. But he had a friend who did this event. Now, I am going to support my teammates."
The Czech athlete launched the hammer through the sky way beyond the 70 metre-line in the field to stamp his authority in the second round with 77.21m.
That feat alone was enough to please the Czech as he celebrated in the arms of his supporters and teammates.
But fuelled by pride, joy and excitement, he went on to better that distance in the fifth round with his winning throw of 79.07m, before backing it up once more in the final round with 78.39m.
Kassavitas and Finland’s Volari Paananen, who placed sixth, were the only other two athletes to throw PBs after the women’s hammer competition saw all of the top five athletes better their PBs on what seems to be a favourable circle.
“I am overwhelmed by what I achieved, these are tears of joy,” Kassavitas said.
“The whole season I was looking forward to this competition, is for this result and now it is here. I would like to thank my family and the people close to me that came to see me, without their support I would not be here.
“This is the best gift for me for what I sacrificed this season. It is also a great motivation for me to continue and to try to become a better athlete.
“The moment I like best in hammer throw is the release, when the hammer flies. My father was also a hammer thrower, I wanted to keep the tradition, my father is my biggest fan.”
*Geoblocking restrictions apply in territories where Rieti 2026 is being covered by a national broadcaster