Polish heptathlete Adrianna Sułek-Schubert finished in seventh place at the European Championships with a total of 6,375 points after losing her lead during the final day of competition.
Kate O'Connor claimed the European title with 6,751 points, while Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands took second place with 6,713 points and Sofie Dokter finished third with 6,664 points. The result meant the 27-year-old Pole was unable to replicate her achievement from four years ago, when she won the European Championship silver medal with a score of 6,532 points.
The heptathlon is a two-day multi-discipline athletics event consisting of seven disciplines: the 100-metre hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-metre sprint, long jump, javelin throw, and 800-metre race. Sułek-Schubert entered this year's European event returning to top form after giving birth to a child, aiming to contend for major honors.
Strong start on opening day
The first day of competition started with a strong display from Poland's top heptathlete. Following the morning session, which featured the 100-metre hurdles and the high jump, Sułek-Schubert led the standings by a single point ahead of second-placed O'Connor.
She expanded her lead during the evening session after delivering strong performances in the shot put and 200 metres. Sułek-Schubert ended the first day holding a 24-point margin over Dokter and a 42-point lead over O'Connor. Experts noted, however, that the disciplines scheduled for the second day did not favor the Polish athlete and indicated she would face difficulty keeping her lead.
Setbacks in long jump and javelin
Those concerns materialized on the second day. In the long jump, Sułek-Schubert recorded a valid mark only on her third and final attempt. The conservative safety jump resulted in significant point losses and caused her to drop to fifth place overall. Her performance in the javelin throw proved even more troublesome, as none of her throws surpassed 40 metres and she intentionally fouled two of her attempts.
Before the final 800-metre race, Sułek-Schubert occupied seventh place, trailing leader O'Connor by 329 points and sitting 258 points behind the medal positions. With such a gap, it was considered unlikely that she could mount a challenge for a medal, even if she produced a personal best in the final event.
In the 800-metre race, Sułek-Schubert recorded a time of 2:15.20 to gain 892 points, placing 11th in that event. Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands set the fastest time in the 800 metres at 2:10.87.
