EUGENE — American Anna Hall is in contention to medal after the first day of events in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships.
Hall is in third place with 3,991 points, 80 points behind leader Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium and 19 behind Anouk Vetter of the Netherlands, after the first four of seven events were completed Sunday at Hayward Field.
The NCAA champion from of the University of Florida, Hall was third in the 100-meter hurdles (13.2 seconds), third in the high jump with a season-best 6 feet, 1 1/4 inches, ninth in the shot put (44-8) and first in the 200 meters in a personal-best 23.08.
With the long jump, javelin and 800 meters remaining on Monday, Hall could end up on the podium if she can fend off Poland’s Adrianna Sulek and Noor Vidts of Belgium, who are nine and 70 points behind her, respectively.
“Fighting for every inch in every event, every second and having fun,” Hall said. “Hopefully that will be what puts me over the top. I feel really good about my long jump right now. Excited for that. I’ve been feeling a little more solid in javelin toward the end of the season this year and then I’m excited for the 800 as well. Honestly it’s probably going to come down to the 800, so I’m ready to run hard.”
Thiam, the Olympic gold medalist in both Tokyo and Rio, won the high jump (6-4 3/4) and could add to her lead in both the long jump and javelin, where she had advantages over nearly the entire 15-woman field.
“I am confident that tomorrow is going to be good, too, if I can get enough rest,” Thiam said. “I am better shape than Tokyo, but I can’t say I’m in better preparation because I had a lot of problems, too. Before these championships, I was feeling calm and confident, which is the big difference from Tokyo. The atmosphere is amazing and it’s great to be here.”
Vetter, the silver medalist in Tokyo, won the shot put with a personal-best (53-3 3/4). She could gain some ground during the javelin on Sunday.
“I fulfilled everything I expected from Day 1,” Vetter said. “One month ago I got hamstring injury and I was forced to change and even to stop for a little bit my preparation. I was in doubt should I be here or what shape I’ll be in. That is why speed events like 100-meter hurdles and 200 meters were stressful for me, but I did them well. Long jump will be very important for me and maybe even key event as we can score a lot of points there. In any case, I’ll try to continue in style and to do my best.”
Americans Michelle Atherley, Ashtin Zamzon-Mahler and Kendell Williams are in 12th, 14th and 15th.
Atherley took the early lead with a time of 13.12 seconds in the second heat of the 100-meter hurdles, earning 1,106 points, but dropped with 14th-place finishes in the high jump and shot put.
“Fairly average performance so far, but I’m glad that I made it through every event,” Atherley said. “I’m feeling pretty good. I like my Day 2 so far. Just to get my body as prepared as possible to take on each event.”
Zamzon-Mahler, the 2019 NCAA champion, had her best finish in the long jump, at eighth place. She faded during the second half of the 200.
“Ran out of juice on that 200,” she said. “Think (I) should’ve eaten a little more, but hopefully will be better.”
Williams, who finished fifth in Tokyo and at the 2019 world championships, walked gingerly after the 200 meters was completed. She said she has a torn left plantar fascia, her foot is heavily taped and she’s mentally prepared to withdraw if she can no longer tolerate the pain.
“All of my doctors back home were saying that it was not going to be possible for me to even run, let alone jump, so I’m I guess kind of defying everything right now being able to finish Day 1,” Williams said. “Obviously the numbers are not reflective of what I normally do, but I was just happy that I was able to get out here and do something because it was a struggle to even get out of the blocks a week ago. A lot of the stuff I’m doing for the very first time.
“As soon as I crossed the line after hurdles, I feel like I already won because even that was way far beyond what I thought. Each event after has been a little victory.”
