Libania Grenot taking the 400m in Lugano (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
Lugano, SwitzerlandJust one week after the end of the 2008 European Football Championships, Switzerland hosted a good international athletics meeting in Lugano, a beautiful town on the banks of the Lake of Lugano in the italian-speaking Canton Ticino region.
In the Cornaredo stadium, where the swedish football team trained during the Football Euro 2008, the international athletics meeting Trofeo Città di Lugano renewed its tradition for the seventh consecutive year. Italian sprinters Libania Grenot, winner in the 400 metres in 51.32, and Fabio Cerutti, who ran a new 10.25 PB, were the best results of the Lugano meeting held in ideal weather conditions with a temperature of 25°C.
Libania Grenot, fresh Italian record holder is the emerging name of Italian athletics in the first part of this season. Grenot ran her third race in one week in the women’s one-lap event winning in 51.32, holding off Lee McConnell from Great Britain (51.49) and Kseniya Zadorina (51.76). Cuban-born Grenot made the headlines last week when she broke the Italian 400m record running 51.05 at the Italian Top Club Challenge in Florence. Grenot, who will turn 25 on 12 July, competed for Cuba at the World Championships in Helsinki where she failed to advance from the first round. During the 2005 Christmas holiday she met her Italian husband Silvio Scaffetti who was spending some days in the Caribbean Island. After their marriage on 2 September 2006, Grenot moved to Italy where she started running again under the guidance of Riccado Pisani who also coaches Italian 400m record holder Andrea Barberi.
“I was tired after my second place in Milan on Wednesday where I ran 51.16,” Grenot said. “For this reason I am very happy with my result today. It was my fourth competition this year. I will try again to dip under 51 seconds at the Golden Gala in Rome.” In the Italian leg of the ÅF Golden League, Grenot, who lives in Casal Palocco near Rome, is expected to receive strong support from the local crowd.
In the men’s 400m Ofentse Mogawane from South Africa dipped under 46 seconds to take the victory in 45.92.
Italian sprinter Fabio Cerutti, European indoor finalist in the 60m in Birmingham, sprinted to a new 100 metres PB with 10.25 improving his previous lifetime best by 0.03 seconds. The young Italian sprinter, a European under 23 fourth placer in Debrecen last year, beat Chris Lawson from the USA (10.31) and Ricardo Chambers from Jamaica (10.35).
“I am happy because it beats my previous PB (10.29) at the European Under 23 Championships in Debrecen,” said Cerutti.
Dmitrijs Milkevics from Latvia, fourth at the European Championships in Gothenburg in the men’s 800m, took the win in a tactical two-lap race in 1:47.72.
Another top name from Latvia competing in Lugano was former Javelin Throw Olympic and World championships finalist Eric Rags who speared to a new men’s javelin meeting record of 79.03m.
The second meeting record was broken by reigning World junior silver medallist Christina Vukicevic from Norway who ran 13.08 in the women’s 100m Hurdles.
Andrzej Krawczyk from Poland threw the discus over the 62 metres barrier to take first place with 62.35m.
The women’s 100m final went to Audra Dagelyte from Lithuania in 11.39.
Swiss pole vaulter Nicole Büchler won with 4.20m on countback over her compatriot Nadine Rohr. The men’s Long Jump went to Portugal’s Gaspar Araujo who leapt to 7.89 m.
Italian middle distance runner Eleonora Berlanda took the win in a slow women’s 1500m in 4:17.98.
Young Ethiopian Lelisa Feyisa, born in 1985, took a comfortable win in the final men’s 5000m running 13:34.80, beating Dickson Marwa Nkami (13:38.57) and Tolossa Changere (13:40.57).
Italian Valentina Trapletti, who is coached by former 50 km race walking European bronze medallist Gianni Perricelli, took the win in the 3 km race in a new PB of 13:16.71 beating local favourite Marie Polli.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
