ISTANBUL, Turkey – The Ataköy Arena was the site of an electrifying day of competition at the European Indoor Championships, as Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium and Adrianna Sulek of Poland shattered the previous world indoor pentathlon record on Friday (3).
In the same location where Ukraine’s Nataliya Dobrynska established her world record of 5013 points in 2012, Thiam and Sulek pushed each other to new heights as they competed against both their opponent and the clock.
The Belgian amassed a total of 5055 points to secure the gold medal, while Sulek scored 5014 to finish in the runner-up spot. – Read more: Day 2: European Athletics Indoor Championships order of events; how to watch live
Belgium’s Noor Vidts rounded out the podium with a bronze medal and a score of 4823.
Nataliya Dobrynska expressed her thoughts after witnessing her world indoor pentathlon record being surpassed by Thiam.
“I always knew that my record would eventually be broken, that’s why I’m here today. But to see two athletes do it, it’s incredible,” Dobrynska said. “I’m very happy that my record lasted for 11 years. The sport has evolved and these athletes have produced amazing results.”
The 60m hurdles saw Thiam clock in at 8.23 and Sulek at 8.21, both personal bests. In the high jump, the Belgium reigning champion cleared 1.92m and Sulek went over 1.89m.
Thiam’s shot put PB was 15.54m, while Sulek threw 13.89m, another PB. The long jump saw the champion leap 6.59m to follow behind Sulek, who soared 6.62m, again, both setting personal bests.
The 800m was the deciding factor, with Sulek crossing the finish line in 2:07.17, improving the world record by one point.
But Thiam wasn’t far behind, as the two-time Olympic and world heptathlon champion clocked in at 2:13.60, bringing her overall score to 5055 points to collect her third successive European Athletics Indoor Championships title.
