Hammer decathlon silver for Gillespie

Jim Gillespie ended the summer throws season in style, claiming a silver medal, national record and a handful of personal bests at the World Hammer Decathlon Championships.
Jim Gillespie.Jim Gillespie.
Jim Gillespie.

Saturday started well for Jim with his second-best throw of the season with the 10k hammer, throwing 11.51m in Derby.

Next up was the 12.5k implement, and a near-personal best throw of 9.54m kept him in contention for a medal.

The third event is the 15.88k hammer,a 6.34m effort was ok and saw Jim, from Wragby, into third place overall.

The 19.05k implement brought a season’s best 5.60m, Jim remaining third before a personal best 4.51m with the 25.4k hammer edged him up to second place.

Total disaster very nearly struck at the halfway point as, in event six, the 4k hammer, Jim’s first two throws went out of the throwing area.

This means he had to hold back to make sure he got one in and claimed some points.

A throw of 28.37m was ok, but meant that his lead over the third-placed athlete had been cut.

Event seven was the 5k hammer and a personal best of 29.35m was fantastic, except that he was beaten again by the third-placed athlete.

However, in event eight, the 6k hammer, nerves got the better of him and Jim beat his rival by more than 6m, throwing 26.15m.

In the 7.26k hammer, and event 10, the 9k hammer, Jim once again threw personal bests of 23.87 and 16.90 respectively to secure the silver medal.

The winner of the title was Martin Roberts, with fellow GB athlete Andrew McKenzie in third.

“Another bonus was the fact that I smashed my Irish record by nearly 300 points scoring 3602,” said Jim.

“This was an incredible way to end the season, way beyond what I had hoped for.

“It’s now time for a rest before training starts again in earnest come November, with the first winter throws competitions starting in December.”

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