Swiss Sweep in Götzis: Ehammer and Kälin Triumph with National Records

Ehammer's Path to Victory

In the javelin, Ehammer threw 54.38 meters. His 8,778-point total ranks him 18th on the all-time decathlon list. Earlier this year, during the indoor season, he won a world championship title and broke the heptathlon world record previously held by American Ashton Eaton for 14 years.

Neugebauer, 25, from Stuttgart, placed second with 8,730 points. The world champion plans to compete next in Ratingen, then at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham from 10 to 16 August, and possibly in Talence at the end of the season.

Germany's Niklas Kaul, a former world champion from Mainz, finished third with 8,528 points. Kaul moved up the standings with strong performances in the final two disciplines, the javelin and 1,500 meters, repeating his pattern from the previous year. He intends to heal minor injuries before the European Championships in Birmingham.

German Contingent and Warner

Canadian Damian Warner, an eight-time Götzis winner, placed fourth with 8,497 points. Warner said he was satisfied with his first day but not with his second.

In the women's heptathlon, Annik Kälin of Switzerland won with 6,726 points, setting a Swiss national record. She finished 21 points ahead of Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands, who achieved a personal best of 6,705 points.

Dutch athlete Sofie Dokter, the reigning indoor world champion, placed third with a personal record of 6,627 points. Dokter had led the heptathlon at the halfway point, but Kälin took the lead after winning the long jump, the first event on Sunday.

Kälin's Heptathlon Triumph

Germany's Sophie Weißenberg, 28, from Leverkusen, placed fourth with a personal best of 6,449 points. Weißenberg tore her Achilles tendon during warm-up at the Olympics and had to take a break of more than 20 months due to injury. She said she did not expect it but was briefly emotional after the hurdles.

Austrian heptathlete Chiara Schuler finished 21st with 5,865 points, the only Austrian in the women's field. This was the first time Swiss athletes won both the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon at the Hypo-Meeting in Götzis.

Historic Swiss Double

After his victory, Ehammer told ORF: 'Unglaublich. Als Jugendlicher bin ich zuschauen gekommen, dann habe ich irgendwann einmal starten dürfen, gegen Damian (Warner) laufen dürfen, und jetzt gewinnst du gegen so starke Athleten.' Kälin said: 'Unglaublich. Dass ich zwei Tage so performen konnte. Hypomeeting-Siegerin ist was, was ich mir immer erträumt habe.'