German javelin star Thomas Röhler took his brilliant season to an incredible new level with the 11th best throw in history at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku on Wednesday night.
Röhler broke 90 metres for the first time in his career, with 91.28m in round three, before then reaching 91.04m in round five.
Less than a week before the start of the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, the man who is favourite for the title has shown just how tough it will be for his rivals.
See his fantastic throw below:
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Two years ago in Zürich, Röhler failed to make the cut in the final, finishing last of the 12 with a best of 70.31m but now he has found the greatest form of his life.
A man who began the summer with a personal best of 89.27m, his series at this European Athletics Outdoor Premium meeting was superb.
Röhler, who had already taken his pb to 89.30m in Oslo earlier this month, started with 85.81m and then followed with 89.34m, 91.28m, 86.25m, 91,04m and 86.56m as he beat fellow German Julian Weber, who was second with a pb of 86.83m, and Finland’s Antti Ruuskanen, the defending European champion, with 83.10m.
Fellow Finn Tero Pitkämäki, the 2007 world champion and triple European medallist, was fourth with 83.03m and along with Ruuskanen, Weber and Germany's Johannes Vetter, they will all be big challengers in Amsterdam, but it might need something special to stop Röhler.
Polish hammer thrower Pawel Fajdek is a double world champion but has never won the European title, finishing second in Zurich.
Amsterdam could be his time as he proved by confirming his position as world No.1 in Turku with a fourth round throw of 81.12m before two more beyond 80m - 80.95m and 80.79m - as he beat Tajikistan’s Dilshod Nazarov (78.87m) and Polish teammate Wojciech Nowicki (78.04m).
It was a good meeting for Poland as Michal Haratyk (20.25m) led a one-two in the men’s shot put from Mateusz Mikos (20.18m) and Danuta Urbanik ran a personal best 4:06.58 to win the women’s 1500m.
The women’s pole vault proved a great occasion for Finland, with only countback separating the top three who all ended with 4.52m.
As Minna Nikkanen earned a home win from Switzerland’s Nicole Büchler, Wilma Murto, who has just turned 18, broke the national age group record in third.
Finland’s Nooralotta Neziri ran a fine 12.91 to win the 100m hurdles and could make an impression in Amsterdam and in the 110m hurdles, Hungary’s Balazs Baji won in 13.43 after a season’s best of 13.41 in the heats.
Denmark’s Sara Petersen (56.07) beat Belarusian Katsiaryna Belanovich (56.20) in the 400m hurdles and France’s Ophelie Claude-Boxberger (9:34.96) won the 3000m steeplechase in a pb from Sviatlana Kudzelich, of Belarus (9:41.21) while in third, Denmark´s Anna Emilie Moller broke the national record with 9:41.43.