Doha 2019 Countdown: Part Five
Keisuke joins the field in his 5th World Championships by way of being the Asian champion, winning the title back in April with 7872 points. That competition also took place in Doha, where the most experienced decathlete in the field showed that there is always room to improve, setting a lifetime best in the shot. Keisuke’s competition in Götzis in May was thwarted by an early set of no-jumps in the long jump, but he went onto win his fourth Japanese decathlon title in June with 7847.
Photo credit: Michel Fisquet, Team Photo
Maicel is the second of the “Georgia Dawgs” to feature in the World Championship line up. After a sensational start to 2018, with world indoor bronze in Birmingham and exceeding 8500 for the first time as runner up to Damian Warner in Götzis, the latter part of his season - and the European Championships in particular – was curbed by injury. But the two-time NCAA champion came back with a bang again this year in Götzis, finishing 3rd – again behind Warner and Lindon Victor – with his 4th best decathlon ever, 8353. Maicel rounded off his pre-Championships competition prep with a decathlon in Lutsk, finishing second behind Vitaly Zhuk and leading Estonia to overall European Combined Events Team Super League gold.
Photo credit: Michel Fisquet, Team Photo
Pieter has had a low-key competition season, going about his business and competing sparingly. But the competitions have been good ones. He gave the European Indoor Championships a miss as a precaution for injury, but then finished 5th in Götzis behind Warner, Victor, Uibo and Kaul, with a score of 8306 (just 36 points short of his lifetime best) helped by a thundering javelin PB of 64.19. He participated with Mayer, Kazmirek, Ureña and Devon Williams at the Diamond League “triathlon” in Paris and competed for the Netherlands at the individual event European Team Championships First League in Norway, with a long jump of 7.40.
Photo credit: Michel Fisquet, Team Photo
Basile’s season has been carefully choreographed, navigating through some injuries that caused him to drop out after Day 1 of the European Indoors in Glasgow. But it all came together in the most dramatic fashion at the Mehrkampf meeting in Ratingen in June. Four personal bests in the first four events kept him within 7 points of the eventual winner Kai Kazmirek. And another best next day in the discus. But disaster almost struck in the pole vault, as Basile balanced protection of his hamstring with the need to clear a height and secure a Doha qualifying mark. He made it over his opening height of 4.50 at the third attempt, some 50cm below his best, and went no higher. But he recovered and a 60+m javelin followed, and a 1500 where Gael Querin set the pace before dousing him with a bucket of water. Basile’s Ratingen 8205 has been one of the decathlon performances of the year – he’s competed sparingly since.
Photo credit: Bjorn Paree
• 2019 Götzis preview
• 2019 Götzis review
• 2019 Ratingen preview
• 2019 Ratingen review
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