Estonia celebrated success in combined events at the 2024 European Championships in Rome as world record-holder Kevin Mayer secured Olympic qualification before his home Olympics.
Johannes Erm, the latest Estonian combined events sensation, garners significant support in Rome as he vied for European glory. Erm claimed gold with an impressive score of 8764, surpassing Sander Skotheim of Norway (8635) and Makenson Gletty of France (8606).
A quarter-century ago, decathlete Erki Nool rose to national hero status in Estonia after securing the 1998 European title in Budapest followed by Olympic gold in Sydney. Accompanied by his devoted “Erki Nool fan club,” Nool’s success remains a cherished memory, echoing the fervent support witnessed for Erm in Rome.
Niklas Kaul, the reigning champion from Germany, finished strongly to secure fourth place with 8547 points, while Kevin Mayer, the world record-holder from France, claimed fifth with 8476 points, crucially surpassing the Olympic qualifying standard by 16 points.
The victory marked Erm’s inaugural major international title, following his previous achievements of minor medals in the world and European under-20 championships, an 11th-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, and ninth-place finishes at both the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Additionally, he clinched bronze in the heptathlon at the World Indoors in Glasgow in March.
Erm notably captured the NCAA title in 2019 during his tenure at the University of Georgia, where he pursued studies in mechanical engineering. After day one, Skotheim lead the competition with 4566 points, maintaining his position with three events remaining, closely followed by Gletty. The latter demonstrated impressive resilience in the 110m hurdles, achieving a personal best of 13.88 (+0.7m/s) in a solo re-run, with Erm in pursuit.
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However, the pole vault emerged as a pivotal moment, with Erm achieving a personal best clearance of 5.10m, while Skotheim struggled, only managing 4.60m, well below his usual performance. Consequently, Erm surged into first place, displacing Gletty, while Skotheim slipped to fourth. In a bid to secure a qualifying score for his home Olympics, Mayer cleared the 5.00m mark on his final attempt and continued to successfully clear 5.30m.
In the penultimate event, the javelin throw, Erm achieved another personal best, launching the javelin to a distance of 62.71m. He then solidified his title with a strong performance in the 1500m, crossing the finish line in 4:24.95. Erm’s overall score fell just short of Nool’s Estonian record of 8815 points, hinting that he may have a chance to break it at the upcoming Paris event in August.
“It has been two amazing days,” said Erm. “I do not remember when I was last time this happy. I love it here. A lot of Estonian fans came here, and every single one counted. All the locals, everyone cheered us on, you could feel it in all events, especially in the 1500m.
”I got the yellow (leader’s) bib for the javelin throw and after my final throw, I was already in shock. I had to calm down. Then came the 1500m. I couldn’t rest, my pulse was racing! I just loved the big stage.
“I got four PBs plus the decathlon, but I would say that nothing was perfect, but everything was very, very, very good, or at least above average. I know that there is room to improve but it is really difficult to put all 10 events together and I just did it, so that is just amazing.”