June 2017 - Editorial: International Highland Games Beckum 2017
Six in a row! Wilfred van Est wins (International) Highland Games competition in the Netherlands (Beckum) against some stiff competition, mostly from German top athletes.
Germans are after all this year, after the US athletes, the biggest group at the Masters World Championships in Iceland.
One way to get some perspective on the achievement of Dutch Wilfred van Est in winning 6 straight (international) competitions is to consider the record marks he is setting. Big throws came in all events for Wilfred van Est as he posted one of the best series of throws in the light WFD. One throw over 20 meters and not a single foul in the competition helped propel van Est onto the global stage as one of the top throwers in Europe and one to watch for some time with such a consistent performance of world-class throws!
This year he won every competition with almost first places in most events! He just keeps improving every competiton. I'm sure in the coming years Wilfred will also make his mark in the Masters World Championships.
German MWC competitor record holder Uli Müller (2nd place) had a good competition and proved a strong contender but could not manage to take an event from van Est.
The biggest opponents from Wilfred were Uli Müller and Alexander Wendling (Germany). Wendling (3d place) was the only athlete who could win an event, he inched Wilfred van Est out in the heavy hammer event.
The other Dutch athlete in this class was Godfried Kleinmeijer, by now the oldest active thrower in the Netherlands. He managed to take 7th place in a field of 10 athletes. He qualified for almost every event for the World Championships next year and showed some improvements in Stone and WFH. Both hammers were (technically) bad and therefore minimal distances.
Dirk Mertins (Germany) proved a worthy contender for 6th place and had a battle on hand with Mirko Weinmann and Jens Schwan (both from Germany and competing in this years MWC in Iceland).
Dutch top athlete Wybe Zeilstra witnessed as a visitor the outstanding performance of his direct opponent Wilfred van Est and knows he has to improve to stop van Est to win his third consecutive Dutch title.
The crew from Gert and Peter Stegeman made this Highland Games event outstanding (again) and attracts every year the very best athletes from Europe to compete in a friendly atmosphere. Throwing, food and beer. Well done guys!
Six in a row! Wilfred van Est wins (International) Highland Games competition in the Netherlands (Beckum) against some stiff competition, mostly from German top athletes.
Germans are after all this year, after the US athletes, the biggest group at the Masters World Championships in Iceland.
One way to get some perspective on the achievement of Dutch Wilfred van Est in winning 6 straight (international) competitions is to consider the record marks he is setting. Big throws came in all events for Wilfred van Est as he posted one of the best series of throws in the light WFD. One throw over 20 meters and not a single foul in the competition helped propel van Est onto the global stage as one of the top throwers in Europe and one to watch for some time with such a consistent performance of world-class throws!
This year he won every competition with almost first places in most events! He just keeps improving every competiton. I'm sure in the coming years Wilfred will also make his mark in the Masters World Championships.
German MWC competitor record holder Uli Müller (2nd place) had a good competition and proved a strong contender but could not manage to take an event from van Est.
The biggest opponents from Wilfred were Uli Müller and Alexander Wendling (Germany). Wendling (3d place) was the only athlete who could win an event, he inched Wilfred van Est out in the heavy hammer event.
The other Dutch athlete in this class was Godfried Kleinmeijer, by now the oldest active thrower in the Netherlands. He managed to take 7th place in a field of 10 athletes. He qualified for almost every event for the World Championships next year and showed some improvements in Stone and WFH. Both hammers were (technically) bad and therefore minimal distances.
Dirk Mertins (Germany) proved a worthy contender for 6th place and had a battle on hand with Mirko Weinmann and Jens Schwan (both from Germany and competing in this years MWC in Iceland).
Dutch top athlete Wybe Zeilstra witnessed as a visitor the outstanding performance of his direct opponent Wilfred van Est and knows he has to improve to stop van Est to win his third consecutive Dutch title.
The crew from Gert and Peter Stegeman made this Highland Games event outstanding (again) and attracts every year the very best athletes from Europe to compete in a friendly atmosphere. Throwing, food and beer. Well done guys!