Croatian heptathlete Jana Koščak has withdrawn from the European Championships in athletics taking place in Birmingham. The young representative, who won the title of junior world champion last year, did not appear at the start of the final discipline on the first day, the 200 metres. Her appearance at this major competition has therefore ended prematurely.
Prior to withdrawing, Koščak had competed in three disciplines, and after the shot put, she was in 22nd place overall among the 24 entered heptathletes. In the first day's event, the 100 metres hurdles, she recorded a time of 14.30 seconds. Although this was a result that placed her at the bottom of the rankings in that discipline, it is important to note that she was one second slower than her personal best.
In the high jump, the 20-year-old Croatian showed solid form by clearing a height of 1.83 metres. For that result, she earned 1,016 points, which placed her third in that discipline and temporarily lifted her to 13th place in the points race. However, the situation changed suddenly in the shot put.
In the final discipline of the day, Koščak threw the shot put a distance of 12.21 metres. That result was the second to last in the field and 1.79 metres short of her best result achieved this season. Following this performance, her ranking dropped to 22nd, which was the moment when the decision to withdraw was made.
After three disciplines, the first place on the heptathlon rankings is held by Poland's Adrianna Sulek-Schubert. She leads with 3,968 points, a significant advantage over the competition. In second place is the Dutch athlete Sofie Dokter with 3,944 points, while third is the Irish athlete Kate O'Connor with 3,926 points. The competition continues on the second day, but for Koščak, the European Championships in Birmingham have officially ended.
