Germany’s Max Hess leapt out to a world lead of 17.41m in the sixth round of the triple jump at the Meeting Metz Moselle, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver meeting, on Saturday (8) afternoon.
Hess, who finished seventh at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, trailed Italy’s Andy Diaz heading into the final round - 17.09m to 16.98m - before the 2016 European outdoor champion supplanted the Italian with a world leading performance of 17.41m.
Not only was the German’s mark a big improvement on the previous world lead of 17.14m, it was also the second longest jump of his career behind his lifetime best of 17.52m which dates back to the qualifying round of the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade where Hess won his first of four successive bronze medals.
Diaz, who will be one of Hess’ principal rivals at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn from 6-9 March, improved to 17.31m on his final attempt with France’s Melvin Raffin third with a season’s best of 16.71m.
Victory for Klaver and a Dutch U20 record for Van Leur
World and European indoor 400m silver medallist Lieke Klaver from the Netherlands was narrowly the fastest across the three very competitive 400m races, winning the first heat in 51.70.
The second heat was won by Brit Laviai Nielsen in 51.88 ahead of France’s Amandine Brossier in 52.05 while 17-year-old Madelief Van Leur finished fourth in a lifetime best of 53.23 to eclipse Femke Bol’s Dutch indoor U20 record by 0.01.
Ireland’s Sharlene Mawdsley, who ran the anchor leg of their victorious mixed 4x400m relay team at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships, won the third 400m in 51.86 ahead of Louise Maraval in 52.55.
Klaver also doubled back to win her 200m heat in 23.10 but by far the fastest across the three heats was her training partner Torrie Lewis from Australia who won the second heat in an outright lifetime best and world lead of 22.65.
Also on the road to Apeldoorn 2025, two-time European indoor champion Nadine Visser finished second in the 60m hurdles in a season’s best of 7.84 behind Alia Armstrong from the United States who equalled her lifetime best of 7.81 to take the victory.
Meziane just misses European indoor 600m best
In the last event on the programme, European U23 800m champion Yanis Meziane ran a solo 1:15.09 in the seldom contested indoor 600m.
Meziane’s time improved the French indoor best of 1:15.50 set by Benjamin Robert at this meeting last year but he fell agonisingly short of the European indoor best of 1:14.92 set by Eliott Crestan last month.
In the 1500m, Morocco’s Anass Essayi won in a fast 3:33.55 ahead of Belgium’s former European U23 champion Ruben Verheyden who was second in a national indoor record of 3:34.49. Austria’s Raphael Pallitsch, 35, was third in an Austrian indoor record of 3:36.34.
Other highlights included former European indoor and outdoor champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde continuing his comeback with victory in the 60m hurdles in 7.66 and Teo Andant, who was part of France’s silver medal-winning team in the 4x400m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, clocking the fastest time across the three 400m races with 46.21.
Steven Mills for European Athletics