Powerful throws expected in Bydgoszcz

The throwing events promise to be spectacular at the Szewinska Memorial, a World Athletics Tour gold-label event in Bydgoszcz this Friday (30 June).

The men’s shot put will see a rematch of the entire podium from the World Indoor Championships, as the three medallists from Nanjing – Tom Walsh, Roger Steen and Adrian Piperi – will once again face each other. The addition of world leader Payton Otterdahl and Jamaican Olympic bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell, who currently occupy the top two spots in the world rankings after throws of 21.97m and 21.95m respectively in Rabat last weekend, further elevates the class of the competition.

In the women’s shot put, the meeting record of 19.10m, set 24 years ago, could be bettered. Two-time world champion Chase Jackson has entered and has thrown over 20 meters in all three of her outdoor events so far this year.

She will face fellow Jamaican Maggie Ewen and Danniel Thomas-Dodd, both of whom threw over 19 meters last weekend in Arizona.

The home crowd will be cheering on their top men’s hammer throwers, led by five-time world champion Pawel Fajdek and 2021 Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki. They will face stiff competition as three other athletes in the event have already thrown over 80 meters this year: U.S. record holder Rudy Winkler, Olympic silver medalist Bence Halаsz and Olympic bronze medalist Mykhaylo Kokhan.

On the track, perhaps the biggest interest will be in the women’s 400m, as it will feature Natalia Bukowiecka, the woman who broke the long-standing Polish record held by Irena Szewinska, after whom the event is named.

Natalia Bukowiecka, a world silver medalist, began her outdoor season earlier this month by finishing second in Doha in 50.92 seconds. She will be aiming for a better time on Friday, especially with the tournament record of 49.86 seconds set here last year in mind.

Along with compatriot Justyna Swiety-Ersetic, Natalia Bukowiecka’s main competition could come from Colombia’s Evelis Aguilar, who recently ran a personal best of 49.80 sec.

Polish hopes will also be high in the 800m, where European indoor champion Anna Wielgosz will compete in her first outdoor event of the year. But the same goes for world indoor bronze medallist Patricia Silva, who has not competed since setting a Portuguese indoor record of 1:59.80 min in Nanjing.

In the men’s race, Sweden’s Andreas Kramer will face Ireland’s Mark English and Czech record holder Jakub Dudycha.

After running a personal best in the 5000m in California last month, Australia’s Linden Hall returns to her specialist distance of the 1500m.

The 2016 Olympic champion Omar McLeod is among the entries for the men’s 110m hurdles. The women’s race is set to feature a clash between Hungary’s Luca Kozak, Japan’s Hitomi Nakajima and the Bahamas’ Denisha Cartwright.