Dennis

After today, I have to agree with you. is doing what they can without any bad results apart from maybe finishing last in the men's 200m. On the other hand, is performing worse than I expected, mainly in the women's events. The men are performing as can be expected from them. has some good events coming up tomorrow, but the gap might be too big to close. Some general thoughts after today: The southern European countries ( ) are performing better than I anticipated, whereas and are underperforming so far in my eyes. Based on today, I'd say will keep that 7th spot, right before and .

Looking at result, you would think these were the high jump results.

Normally speaking, it will be between and for one ticket to Tokyo. of course the heavy favorite, but beat and back-to-back at the 2018 World Championships. I don't have my hopes too high up, but I'm excited for that match tomorrow.

This is by far the most exciting league. Not for the top spot, because that's for . Then there are three countries following at a small distance: and But behind those four teams there is an intense battle going on between 5 countries for three spots in the second league next year: and are very very close. is doing the best out of those 5 so far, whereas is performing the worst, but any of those teams have practically the same chances of staying in this league.

My thoughts after Day 2: Positive surprises: surprised me in many events, especially in the men's long jump. and continue their good form they showed yesterday. Today's losers: getting disqualified in both relays. Looking at the races, they would have finished first in both relays, so they actually lost 22 points. Had they won those points, I would have had almost zero doubts that would be promoted. Promotion: It's all open now. and will battle it out together. Seeing how well and are doing, they might be the favorites now. Relegation: After the surprisingly good performance of today, I think they will finished in 10th place, leaving behind them. and will battle it out for that 7th spot. Right now, it looks as if might take it.

Why was DSQ in the men's relay? The relay teams managed to lose 22 points in two finals.

Damn. being DSQ in the women's 4x100m relay might make this Championships much more intense then needed for the Dutch.

They might have gifted the title this way. Especially now that also didn't start in the women's 100m final.

Agree, might be actually heading for the top 5. Not looking good for at the moment, but and are not looking good either. are heading for relegation.

After being 1st after the first day, they're currently in last place. disappointed in pretty much every event so far.

Expected more from Malyshik in the women's hammer throw. Finishing 6th about 11 meters behind what she has already thrown this year when you have the 2nd best season's best result in Europe only behind Włodarczyk is disappointing.

Three failed throws for Sterckendries in women's hammer throw.

Nice to see win the women's 100m even without Dafne Schippers.

moving in to 1st place with 32 points, in 2nd with 31 points and and both in 3rd with 30 points. So it's still very close. Clear bottom 2 for now are with 14 points and with 11 points. Other two relegation spots are now for and with 21 points each.

Standings after 3/40 events: 25 25 24 21 21 20 15 13 13 12 9

We will have to want and see. Despite not being your best javelin thrower, Weber did manage to win the men’s javelin throw yesterday by quite a margin.

Thoughts after day 1: Positives: . I didn't think they would be in the running for that 7th spot, but they are. Negatives: . By far the worst performance. In the women's 100m they had the best SB out of the entire field, but finished last. On the men's side, they finished 10th in all track events, apart from the 400m hurdles. Missing out on the 100m, 400m and 110m hurdles final on the men's side all surprised me too. Podium: still the favorite for me. got a little closer though. is an obvious #3 for now. Relegation: and are the obvious bottom 2 for now. I would now say 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th. But surprised me especially in the woman's discus throw and 200m. If they keep this up, they might avoid relegation after all.

What happened to Salomé Kora? She had the fastest SB of all participants in the women's 100m, but finished last?

Some thoughts after today: Today's winners: and are the teams that did the best today. They are the clear numbers 3 and 4 for me now. Today's losers: Maybe weird to say this as they are the #1 after today, but might be my biggest disappointment of the day. Not because of the two finals which were contested today, but because of the preliminaries in all the sprint events. Maybe they saved energy for the finals? Might not be the case though as they missed 4 of them. Promotion: still the clear favorite for me to get into the Superleague next year. and met the expectations so far. However, and are getting closer. Too bad only one team gets promoted, because these four teams would have had an intense battle for three spots. Relegation: If wasn't saving energy, then and saw their chances of staying in this league increasing, with being the favorite to stay in this division for me taking today's positive results into account. also did well compared to other teams based on how close they were to their SBs, but I still don't see them finishing higher than last place. met the expectations I'd say, with a positive outlier on the women's 400m compensating for the slightly disappointing women's 200m.

A personal best from the Lithuanian on the 400m in these terrible conditions.

Disappointing time from Bonevacia in the series of the 400m. He often fails to deliver in championships.

Did Lithuania only make it through the men's 200m so far?

What happened to Agnė Šerkšnienė? That 200m was way below what I expected from her.

I'm not 100% sure how this point system works. Why do the top 4 in men's hammer throw all get 8 points? EDIT: nvm. On the website, it shows the correct points now.

Inge Jansen