Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece qualifies for the Triple Jump final (© Getty Images)
The 94th Greek National Championships for men and the 73rd for women were held in Athens Olympic Stadium from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 of June. As more than 50 athletes had already met the standards for the Olympic Games and the World Juniors Championships of Bydgoszcz (8-13 July), the championships became a chance for the verification of the current shape for athletes who are going to represent Greece in the important athletics events of the season.
The infrastructures of the Olympic Stadium gave them the possibility to improve records and in some cases to produce performances among the top positions of the world season’s list. The country’s stars Chrysopigi Devetzi, Luis Tsatoumas, Periklis Iakovakis set leading marks, while the new blood of the sport achieved promising performances for the future.
Devetzi opens with world leader
Olympic silver medalist Devetzi actually opened the outdoor season in the championships, participating in both horizontal jumps and dominating both events for the third consecutive year.
After winning easily the Long Jump final with 6.58m, she competed in the Triple Jump qualification round, when in her first jump of the season she had an impressing jump measured at 14.70m, although she was facing with a negative wind mark (-0.5m/s).
In the final Devetzi jumped 14.92m in the first round setting a world leading performance, while she had also jumps at 14.75m.
The most reliable Greek athlete of the last years has already a precious collection of five silver and bronze medals won in Olympic Games, World and European Championships and remains the country’s warmest hope for one more medal in Beijing Olympic Games.
Athanassia Perra was second in the Triple Jump with 14.32m, but the jump was made under wind slightly assisted conditions (2.1m/s.)
Tsatoumas jumps 8.32m
The top world performer in the Long Jump in 2007, Louis Tsatoumas, managed a big jump participating in the championships. An attempt at 8.32m he set in the final (he qualified with 8.14m) is the 3rd world performance of the year and hopefully marks his return to shape, after the injury problems he had last year.
“I’m very happy with this result,” he stated after the event. “Now I need more jumps around 8.40m, although I intend to participate in less meetings compared to last year. I want to avoid any injuries, as the Olympic Games are my main objective for this season.”
Iakovakis returns to sub-49 territory
Periklis Iakovakis was also among the best performers of the championships, winning the 400mh with 48.80, his first race in 2008 under 49 seconds, but also a European leading performance for the season.
“At last, this performace represents my possibilities,” he commented. “In the next weeks I am going to improve my time even more, while I’m planning to participate in 3 or 4 more meeting before Beijing.”
Minas Alozidis was second with 49.21 to set a national record for Cyprus, while 22-year-old Konstantinos Athanasiou set a personal best of 49.66 to get the third place.
Douvalidis shows solid progression
Konstantinos Douvalidis impressed a few years ago with the World youth all time best performance he set in the 110m Hurdles (13.22 in 2004), but also with the medals won in the European and World Juniors Championships in 2005 and 2006. Last year Douvalidis won the gold medal of the European Under 23 Championships with 13.49 setting a men’s national record for Greece.
His evolution goes on as on Sunday he won easily the final with 13.74 facing a strong negative wind (-1.8 m/s). The 21-year-old hurdler has to verify his participation in the Olympics in one of the coming meetings.
In the women’s race Flora Redoumi won with 13.34 (-1.6 m/s) leaving on the second position a fast improving athlete Olympia Petsoudi who clocked 13.68.
Gousis clocks 20.58 in the 200m, Stergiou clears 1.97m
Anastasios Gousis, finalist in the 200m last year in Osaka, opened the season with 20.58 (-1.0) and verified the standard for the Olympic Games. Last year he improved his personal best to 20.11 and was the faster European 200m runner. Dimitra Dova was the winner of the close women’s 200m final where she clocked 23.73 leaving Cyprus’ Eleni Artymata second with 23.75.
Twelve years after the Atlanta’s Olympic Games where Niki Bakoyainni became the first women high jumper achieving leaps over 2m, Greek athletics found a second athlete who can reach this heights. Antonia Stergiou tried to clear 2m after winning the competition with 1.97m. On Sunday the tiredness of the competition did not permit this clearance, but the participation in the Olympic Games has been verified and the higher jumps are a question of time.
Three national records in women’s events
During the championships three national records were broken all in women events: the 3000m Steeplechase, the Pole Vault and the Hammer Throw.
In the steeplechase Irene Kokinariou set a national record with 9.36.71, running actually without a significant competition which could lead her to an even better performance. Kokinariou improved her own national record by more than six seconds, while Maria Pardalou was second with 9.55.86.
In the Pole Vault Afroditi Skafida had an amazing competition. She won the event at 4.40m and just then she attempted successfully to clear 4.45m and meet the standard for the Olympic Games. Her next objective was the national record at 4.50m, which was also cleared with the second attempt. But Skafida was unstoppable. She doubled the records clearing also 4.55m, while she tried unsuccessfully at 4.61m
In the Hammer Throw Styliani Papadopoulou became the new national record holder and also the second Greek thrower who exceeds the 70m line. Her throw at 71.80m replaces on the records list the old record of 70.33m set in 2006.
Elsewhere...
Panayotis Sarris, already 33-years-old, won the men’s 100m in 10.37, followed by 19-year-old Emmanuel Koutsouklakis who clocked 10.57 to win the silver medal. The young athlete ran a personal best 10.56 in the qualification heats and met the standard for Bydgoszcz’ World Juniors Champs. Georgia Kokloni won the women’s final with 11.57.
The shot putter Andreas Anastasopoulos had his best shot at 19.98m to win the competition verifying the low standard for Beijing.
A Cypriot athlete Alissa Kallinikou was the winner of the 400m with 52.05, followed by Dimitra Dova who clocked 52.33 and Agni Derveni who was third with 52.98, all of them improved their career bests.
Konstantinos Baniotis was the exception of the modest performances set in the vertical jumps. Baniotis, who currently trains with Atlanta’s silver medalist Niki Bakoyianni, cleared 2.27m and slightly lost the 2.30m.
Dimitrios Tsiamis dominated the triple jump with 16.95m, but it was a jump strongly assisted by the wind (+2.7m/s). His best non assisted attempt was at 16.80m., while this season has already jumped 16.88m (7th June, Chania)
The 38-year-old javelin throw Savva Lika, 5th in Osaka world championships last year, will also compete in Beijing Olympics, as she had an attempt at 61.21m verifying the high standard.
Christina Chatzi – Neag achieved her 4th national title in the women’s 400mh with 56.66, while Alexandros Papadimitriou won the men’s hammer throw with 76.36m
On the contrast of the many pleasant moments of the championships, the developments regarding two top athletes result contradictory feelings. The reigning 100m European Under 23 Champion Maria Karastamati participated only in the heats but withdrew from the final because of an injury, while Olympic Champion Fani Chalkia did not even participate in the qualification round having an adductor problem during warming up. At least the latter stated the problem is not serious, but probably she needs to exploit to the fullest the remaining 2-month-period in order to have a remarkable performance in Beijing.
The youngsters prepare for the World Juniors Championships
Besides the well known top athletes who managed to verify a good potential in view of the Olympics, some young athletes achieved promising performances, won medals and rose in the performances lists of their category
In the men’s high jump, a 17-year-old boy Antonios Mastoras won the silver with 2.18m, breaking the 19-year-old juniors record for Greece. Mastoras’ leap raises him to the sixth position of the world juniors list for this season.
In the long jump Georgios Tsakonas, born in 1988, was second with 7.88m, while in the qualification round he had jumped 7.91m approaching his personal best he made few days ago in Chania (7.93m) and verifying his participation in the World Juniors Championships. Last year he was 7th in the European Juniors Championships participating in the triple jump.
In the 200m Lykourgos Tsakonas, two years younger than his brother Georgios, broke his personal record with 21.20 in the qualification round, while in the final he won the bronze medal with 21.51.
In the 400m Petros Kyriakidis, a 19-year-old teammate of Periklis Iakovakis (both train with the Greek coach Maria Sotirakopoulou), was also second with 46.57 following Pantelis Melahrinoudis who won the race with a personal best at 46.13
Finally, in the women’s 800m one more 19-year-old runner, Eleni Theodorakopoulou was a pleasant surprise of the event, as she placed second with 2.07.23 and verified her participation in Bydgoszcz World Juniors Championships.
Michalis Nikitaridis for the IAAF
