12th June 2012 08:34
Local javelin heroine Barbora Å potáková was the women everyone wanted to see at the 19th edition of Odlozil Memorial Meeting in Prague on Monday, the fifth of this summer's 12 European Athletics Outdoor Premium Meetings, but she was eclipsed by German pole vaulter Silke Spiegelburg.
Spiegelburg, the 2010 European Athletics Championships silver medallist, cleared an outdoor personal best and European-leading height of 4.76m on her second attempt before attempting a German record of 4.81m.
She had to be on top form as the Czech vaulter Jirina Ptacnikova improved her own personal best to 4.72m, with Spiegelburg having skipped that height after clearing 4.68m with her second attempt, before failing at a Czech record of 4.76m.
Germany's Kristina Gadschiew was third with 4.56m.
For her part, Å potáková had two throws over 65 metres to win her event comfortably with 65.88m, more than five metres ahead of Latvia's 2011 European Athletics Junior Championships silver medallist L„«na M…«ze, who threw 60.06m for the second best performance of her career.
Zuzana Hejnová upset the odds and won the women's 400m hurdles in a meeting record 54.43, the Czech Republic's former European junior champion inflicting the first defeat of the year on Bulgaria's Vania Stambolova, who was second with 54.72.
Russia's 2010 European Athletics Championships gold medallist Natalya Antyukh was third in 55.34.
In a separate race, Great Britain's 2009 European Athletics U23 Championships silver medallist Eilidh Child won in 55.28, coming home ahead of Poland's Anna Jessien who was second in 55.58.
There were two home wins in the vertical jumps.
The 2012 World indoor Championships silver medallist Jaroslav Baba was the only man over 2.28min the men's high jump, with Greece's Kostadinos Baniotis second with 2.25m, while pole vaulter Jan Kudlicka cleared 5.62m before attempting a Czech record of 5.82m.
Another Czech win came in the men's shot put when 2010 European Athletics Championships finalist Antonín …½alský reached 20.38m.
British sprinter Anyika Onuora won the women's 200m into a stiff breeze in 23.21 while Russia's Yekaterina Strokova won the women's discus with 60.21m.
Details of all European Athletics Outdoor Premium Meetings can be found here.
The website for the 2012 Odlozil Memorial Meeting (in Czech) is here.