On the second morning of action in Toruń, the Swiss star is steadily approaching a historic mark.
Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer is on the verge of something special at the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, putting in a performance that has put the heptathlon world record firmly within reach.
After racking up a total of 3,698 points on the first day to take control of the leaderboard, Ehammer returned for the second day (March 21) in emphatic fashion.
He immediately set the tone in the 60m hurdles, clocking an astonishing 7.52 to break the heptathlon world record. In doing so, he improved the long-standing mark set by Ashton Eaton by 0.08 seconds, increasing to 4,804 points in total.
Pole vaulting was essential. With the pressure mounting, Ehammer delivered when it mattered most, surpassing a season’s best of 5.30m on her third attempt to stay the course.
Although he was unable to advance beyond 5.40m, two failed efforts there did little to derail his momentum, and he closed the sixth event with 5808 points.
Eaton’s world record of 6,645 points, set in 2012, remains the goal. With only 1,000 meters separating Ehammer from history, the equation is clear: a time of 2:43.20 or faster would secure the record. It’s encouraging that that’s within his capabilities, given his personal best of 2:41.76 from last year’s European Indoor Championships.
In another morning session, the medals in the men’s high jump were decided, continuing a strong showing in the event following Yaroslava Mahuchikh’s victory in the women’s competition a day earlier.
Ukrainian Oleh Doroshchuk added another gold, claiming the world indoor title with a season’s best clearance of 2.30m.
He was pushed to the end by Mexican Erick Portillo, who equaled that height to achieve the best performance of his life. However, Doroshchuk secured gold on countback, leaving Portillo to celebrate an important silver medal.
There was a tie for bronze, with Raymond Richards and Woo Sang-hyeok clearing 2.26m to share the podium, completing a very close and high-quality competition.
