All the Fun of the Field in Berlin

While all eyes were on Usain Bolt's Jamaicans winning the sprint relay on Saturday night two remarkable and mainly missed events took place in the field events. The women's hammer is not usually an event that grabs the headlines but not only did Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk set a new world record with her first throw in the final inside Berlin's emotive Olympic Stadium, but she went on to win the world title with that, her only throw, after she injured her ankle when landing awkwardly having jumped for joy at her best ever throw. Meanwhile, over on the opposite side of the stadium, Steve Hooker was winning the pole vault gold medal in similar fashion. The Australian came to the championships injured, with one vault he qualified for the final, failed on his first attempt at 5.85 metres, promptly raised the bar to 5.90 metres in any case, and soared over. It was enough to win him gold without attempting another vault. So, one round needed out of six for Wlodarczyk, and two vaults required for Hooker. They must wonder what they can do with so much time on their hands.