Agyekum wins German title in 400m hurdles and breaks old Schmid record

The 27-year-old from SCC Berlin ended Schmidt's reign as German record holder after nearly half a century. Defending champion Owe Fischer-Breiholz from Königsteiner LV ran a season's best of 48.08 seconds for second place, while Joshua Abuaku from Eintracht Frankfurt finished sixth in 50.82 seconds.

In the men's 400 metres without hurdles, Jean Paul Bredau from VfL Wolfsburg claimed his third consecutive German title. In 44.72 seconds, the 27-year-old was just one tenth of a second outside the fastest German time of the past 25 years, set by Ingo Schultz. Bredau moved up to joint fifth on the German all-time list.

In the women's events, Eileen Demes from TV 1861 Neu-Isenburg prevailed in the 400 metres hurdles in 55.71 seconds, celebrating her third consecutive German title. Sabrina Heil from VfL Sindelfingen finished second in 56.07 seconds, setting a club record in the process. Johanna Martin, 20, won her first official German championship gold in the 400 metres in 51.20 seconds in the absence of the injured defending champion Skadi Schier. Martin improved her season's best to 50.57 seconds – the fastest time by a DLV athlete since 2001 – and qualified for Birmingham.

Hammer throw and sprints

In the men's hammer throw, vice-world champion Merlin Hummel secured his title with a best attempt of 79.18 metres in the fourth round. "The 80 would have been nice, but we've still got Birmingham," said Hummel. "In Birmingham, a medal is the goal – I don't have to lie about that." Sören Klose from Frankfurt improved his personal best to 77.53 metres in the third attempt, exceeding the direct qualification standard by three centimetres. Klose also threw 78.18 metres and likewise reached the Birmingham standard. Conditions were initially difficult for the hammer throwers, as drizzle made the ring slippery.

In the women's 800 metres, Smilla Kolbe from Frankfurt won in 2:02.20 minutes ahead of Jana Becker from Königsteiner LV in 2:02.72 minutes. Both qualified for the European Championships. The women's high jump was won by 19-year-old Dorothea Gantert from SpVg Laatzen with a clearance of 1.89 metres, a personal best that also met the Birmingham confirmation standard.

Middle distance and jumps

In the women's javelin, Julia Ulbricht from Rostock claimed the title with 61.58 metres, improving her best by 56 centimetres and likewise reaching the European Championship standard. In the women's long jump, Mikaelle Assani prevailed with 6.67 metres, pushing Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo (6.63 m) into second place. "It's really such a big gift that I'm allowed to compete at the German Championships here after my break. Walking out of there with the title wasn't in my head," said Assani. Mihambo's best valid jump of 6.63 metres was followed by five weak or invalid attempts.

In the men's 800 metres, Alexander Stepanov from Sindelfingen secured his fourth German title in 1:48.44 minutes, ahead of Adrian Engstler (TV Villingen, 1:48.95) and Tom Stöber (TV Wetzlar, 1:49.27). Over 1500 metres, Robert Farken won in 3:35.33 minutes, eight days after breaking the German mile record in London and improving the national 1500-metre mark to 3:30.09. Owen Ansah from Hamburger SV, victorious over 100 metres, also claimed the 200 metres title in 20.13 seconds.

Shot put and steeplechase

In the women's shot put, Olympic champion Yemisi Mabry from Mannheim won with 19.04 metres, ahead of Katharina Maisch from LV 90 Erzgebirge (18.57 m) and Nina Ndubuisi from SG Schondorf 1846 (18.32 m). In the 3000 metres steeplechase, two-time European champion Gesa Krause claimed her seventh German title overall in 9:24.40 minutes, bettering her own championship record from 2017. It was her first title after a baby break. "I haven't been this nervous in a long time," said Krause, who is targeting her fifth European Championship medal in Birmingham.