18th July 2013 09:45
Ukraine's Vira Rebryk, who won in Helsinki a year ago, had led with 63.94m but as she fouled, Germany's Linda Stahl stepped in to produce the best throw of the night to secure victory with 65.24m.
Their clash was one of the major events in front of a full stadium at the Spitzenleichtathletik, a European Athletics Outdoor Classic Meeting, in Luzern and it did not disappoint.
The lead changed hands from the start after Stahl was in front from the first round with 60.64m ahead of Rebryk's 58.28m.
But then with her next throw, the Ukrainian reached 63.07m to take the lead, an advantage she extended to 63.94m by the end of round five as Stahl recorded 63.46m. But the German's last effort in this European Athletics Classic meeting was enough with Australia's Kim Mickle in third with 62.38m.
Switzerland's Nicole Buchler's third place in the pole vault came with a performance that will go down in the record books and brought delight for the home crowd because as she cleared 4.61m, she broke the national record.
She could not go any higher, though, as Germany's Silke Spiegelburg produced a season's best performance of 4.71m to finish second behind Cuba's Olympic silver medallist Yarisley Silva who won with 4.81m.
It has been a big week for men's sprinting in Europe with the fast times of Great Britain's James Dasaolu (9.91) and France's Jimmy Vicaut (9.95) and in Luzern, Norway's Jaysuma Saidy Ndure triumphed with a fine victory in 10.07.
This season's best time puts him sixth on the European Athletics rankings as he beat Kemar Hyman, of the Cayman Islands, who was second in 10.17, from Jamaican Julian Forte, third in 10.19. Both Trinidad's Richard Thompson and Antoine Adams, from St Kitts and Nevis, did not finish.
But Saidy Ndure could not make it a sprint double as he finished second in the 200m in 20.36, a race won by Jamaican Jason Young in 19.98.
The B 100m saw a season's best from Portugal's European 100m record Francis Obikwelu who ran 10.61 to finish second behind Jamaican Kenroy Anderson in 10.29.
And then Obikwelu achieved victory in the 4 x 100m relay as he ran the second leg as Portugal won in 39.23 from the USA in 39.28 and Sweden in 39.42.
Germany's Christine Schwanitz is having an excellent season in the shot put but on this occasion, New Zealand's Olympic and world champion Valerie Adams had too much for her.
Schwanitz finished second with 19.65m as Adams won with 20.76m and another German, Nadine Kleinert, was third with 18.32m.
Rhys Williams won 400m hurdles gold in Helsinki and here he achieved another landmark with a personal best as he finished third in 48.84 behind Justin Gaymon, of the USA, who won in 48.69 and Cuba's Omar Cisneros in 48.76.