I had the opportunity to see both the women's and men's competition yesterday in Ostrava. Great throwers gathered together in the 50th Golden Spike Meeting.

Mariya [Abakumova] looked very strong throughout. I had a feeling she could easily throw 2-3 meters farther if she launched her javelin closer to the throwing arc. Compare the position of the left leg at Barbora's and Mariya's throw.
Barbora [Špotáková] looked a bit tired from the hard training she is still doing and she couldn't quite catch a good throw. Her result of 64.78m is very good considering all this.
I liked Sunette Viljoen's technique. Her coach is Tertius Liebenberg (who also coached Marius Corbett - World Champion javelin thrower, who still holds the African record) and it really shows.

The men's competition was exciting, where the leading position changed a few times during the final three attempts.
Matthias De Zordo's win was well deserved.
Petr [Frydrych] looks very strong. He is a really tall guy, and he shows great potential. If he can get himself together and be more consistent with his throws he will achieve great things.

Here are a few pictures I took.

Tero Pitkämäki

Barbora Špotáková

Petr Frydrych and Miklos Nemeth with the new Nemeth Composite Al-Carbon javelin

Click here for more images

Mariya Abakumova