Poland’s Pawel Fajdek rolled back the years with a vintage performance in the hammer at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on Friday (26) evening.
Now 37, Fajdek launched the hammer out to 81.89m in the fifth round - his longest throw in four years - to defeat a world class line-up, including two Olympic medallists as well as the world leader.
This was only Fajdek’s second competition of the season which looked in jeopardy of being wiped out altogether in early February after undergoing shoulder surgery.
But just over four months later, Fajdek has rediscovered the form which has taken him to five successive world titles, as well as the European hammer title in 2016, and will put him in contention for further honours at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham from 10-16 August.
"The competition was very tough, it's always a good push when they throw over 80m. I'm a 100 percent athlete, I always want to win. I had a lot of troubles in the past, now I forget about everything and focus on preparing for the European Championships in Birmingham," said Fajdek.
Fajdek took the victory in Zagreb ahead of Olympic bronze medallist Mykhaylo Kokhan from Ukraine (81.42m) with world leader Yann Chaussinand from France third (80.92m).
Hungary’s Olympic silver medallist Bence Halasz also broke the 80 metre-barrier in fourth with a season’s best of 80.71m while reigning European U23 champion Iosif Kesidis improved his Cypriot record to 78.61m in fifth.
Over 70 metres for Ceh in the discus
Reigning European champion Kristjan Ceh took a last gasp victory in the men’s discus.
The Slovenian trailed Great Britain’s Lawrence Okoye who took the lead in the fifth round with 68.24m but with one throw remaining, Ceh moved back into pole position and surpassed the 70 metre-barrier with a winning throw of 70.32m.
With the European Athletics Championships less than two months away, Ceh is approaching his best form. He also broke the 70 metre-barrier in his previous competition with 71.86m at the Slovenian Team Championships, the longest throw achieved outside Ramona in 2026.
Switzerland's Leonie Hugli also took a surprise victory in the women's javelin with 61.14m ahead of United States' Madison Wiltrout (60.17m) and two-time European medallist Adriana Vilagos from Serbia (60.04m.)
A continental double in the 800m
Great Britain’s Phoebe Gill also took a notable victory in the women’s 800m. Still only 19, Gill made an early break just before the bell and held on for victory in 1:59.18 ahead of her teammate Isabelle Boffey in 1:59.70.
In the last race of the programme, France's Jordan Terrasse made it a European double in the 800m with victory in 1:44.77 ahead of a strong field including Botswana’s Tshepiso Maselela (1:44.99) and Croatia’s Marino Bloudek (1:45.00).
Elsewhere, 19-year-old Serbian Luka Boskovic improved to 8.23m in the long jump to finish second behind Uzbekistan’s Anvar Anvarov (8.29m) and Poland's Ewa Swoboda finished third in the women’s 100m in a season’s best of 10.98 - just 0.01 off Amy Hunt's European leading mark - in a race won by Jamaica’s multiple Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah in 10.91.
Photos courtesy of James Rhodes