Just over one month after breaking the world indoor heptathlon record, Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer began his outdoor season in winning form in the decathlon at the Meeting Internazionale Multistars in Brescia, Italy, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, on Sunday (26).
The runner-up last year, Ehammer took the victory with 8361 points ahead of Brazil’s Jose Fernando Ferreira and Colombia’s Julio Angulo, both of whom also broke the 8000 points-barrier with 8057 points and 8005 points respectively.
The strength and depth in the Swiss combined events ranks was on show as Nino Portmann and 19-year-old European U20 bronze medallist Leon Krummenacher rounded out the top five with 7930 points and 7838 points, lifetime bests for both.
Ehammer led by 189 points after his day one exploits which included a 10.81 clocking in the 100m, a wind-assisted 8.18m long jump and a 47.20 400m - just 0.02 shy of his lifetime best - and the 26-year-old duly extended his margin of ascendency on the second day.
Day two highlights for Ehammer included a 13.74 clocking in the 110m hurdles and a 5.05m clearance in the pole vault before the 26-year-old concluded his efforts with a 4:45.51 clocking in the 1500m, taking the overall victory by over 300 points.
Ehammer, who won his second world indoor heptathlon title in Torun in March, will contest his second decathlon of the season at the Götzis Hypo-Meeting on 30-31 May when he will aim for a higher total. He will face a typically stellar line-up in Gotzis with reigning world decathlon champion Leo Neugebauer from Germany among those to be confirmed.
Ahead of his season's opener in Brescia, Ehammer wrote on Instagram: "I’m not quite back at my peak yet - but that’s part of the process. This competition is about getting back into the rhythm, trusting the work, and building momentum again. I’m not chasing a huge score right now - I’m here to compete, to fight for every point, and to see where I stand. Every event is a chance to improve, to sharpen up, and to take another step forward."
Ehammer, who won long jump bronze at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome, has also outlined that his main priority at the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships from 10-16 August is the decathlon.
Heptathlon victory and lifetime best for Karlsson
Sweden’s Lovisa Karlsson took the victory in the heptathlon with a lifetime best of 6190 points.
Karlsson produced a 2:16.63 clocking in the 800m to reel in overall leader Jessica Barreira from Portugal who led after recording a 49.14m performance in the javelin.
However, Barreira also made a big step forward despite relinquishing her lead. She concluded with a lifetime best of 2:27.91 in the 800m to take her overall score to a lifetime best of 6077 points, the first time she has broken the 6000 points-barrier in her career.
Switzerland’s Mathilde Rey completed the podium in third with 5876 points and there was a pleasing comeback from Great Britain’s Niamh Emerson who completed her first heptathlon since winning gold at the 2018 World Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere.
Emerson, who also won silver behind Katarina Johnson-Thompson at the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships before a succession of injuries scuppered her nascent career, finished fourth with 5799 points.
Emerson set an individual lifetime best in the shot put on the first day, breaking the 14 metre-barrier for the first time with 14.10m.
Full results here.