Gerd Kanter spins to victory in Budapest (© Hasse Sjogren / DECA Text&Bild)
Solid displays in the throwing events provided the key highlights at the European Team Championships 1st and 2nd League competitions in Budapest and Belgrade, respectively, over the weekend.
In Budapest, World record holder Barbora Spotáková reached 67.63m, her second best effort of the season, to dominate the Javelin Throw competition on Saturday. Her winning effort came in the first round, but even her only other measured throw of 63.96m would have sufficed to defeat Slovenian record holder Martina Ratej, who was a distant second with a 59.77m best.
In the Discus Throw, reigning Olympic champion Gerd Kanter of Estonia defeated Hungary’s Zoltan Kovago for the second straight meeting with a solid 68.76m toss. Kovago, who got the better of Kanter with his victories at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai and the World Challenge meeting in Hengelo, reached 66.64m to finish second. This marked the first victory for Kanter since early May.
Nicoleta Grasu of Romania won the women’s event with a 63.05m season’s best to beat back Czech Vera Cechlova, who threw 61.59m for second.
Urtans blasts through 21m barrier
At the 2nd League meeting in Belgrade, the best mark of the weekend came courtesy of Latvian shot putter Maris Urtans who improved his career best for the second straight meeting. The 29-year-old, who threw 20.75m in Prague on 14 June, broke through the 21-metre barrier in a big way, reaching 21.63m on Saturday to move up to No. 5 on the 2010 season's list.
Asmir Kolasinac of Serbia was a distant second with a season’s best 20.20m.
Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic, who celebrates her 20th birthday today (21), gave herself an early present with a double victory to help Croatia move up into the 1st League in 2011. Perkovic, the Discus Throw winner at New York’s Diamond League fixture last weekend, took her specialty on Saturday with a 63.42m best, and returned on Sunday to win a more modest Shot Put competition, throwing 15.57m.
Also in Belgrade, Latvian Vadims Vasilevskis took top honours in the javelin with an 84.08m season’s best, while Marina Marghieva of Moldova won the Hammer Throw with a 70.29m effort, both on Sunday.
13.32 Hungarian sprint hurdles record for Kiss
Other highlights in Budapest included Daniel Kiss’ 13.32 victory in the 110m Hurdles, a Hungarian national record. The 28-year-old knocked 0.02 from his own previous mark set at the World Championships in Berlin last year.
In the women’s 100m Hurdles contest, Nevin Yanit of Turkey took down a strong field with a wind-assisted 12.74 (+2.1), ahead of Ireland’s Derval O'Rourke (12.80), Eline Berings (12.84) of Belgium, and Swede Susanna Kallur (12.88).
Christian Olsson reached a season’s best 17.29m to win the Triple Jump over Romanian Marian Oprea (16.73m) and Czech Jaroslav Baba took the High Jump with a 2.28m clearance over Swede Linus Thörnblad, the winner last weekend in New York, who topped out at 2.25m.
Augusto – double trouble for Portugal
Portuguese women took three of the four distance events, the most impressive of which was Jessica Augusto. After a solid 9:24.37 solo run to take the 3000m Steeplechase on Saturday, the 28-year-old ran within a second-and-a-half of her PB to win the 1500m on Sunday in 4:09.78.
Her teammate Sara Moreira produced a good victory in the 3000m on Saturday, clocking 8:53.65, ahead of Hungary’s Krisztina Papp (9:06.15), who also finished second in the 1500m.
Also in Belgrade, World champion Blanka Vlasic won the High Jump at 1.94m (three misses at 1.98) and Dmitrij Valukevic of Slovakia took the men’s Triple Jump with a 17.18m leap.
The Czech Republic, which took the team honors in Budapest with 355.5 points, along with Sweden (323.5) and Portugal (295.5) earned promotion to the top league for 2011, with Estonia and Lithuania relegated to the 2nd league next year.
Switzerland (207) and Croatia (200) battled their way to promotion to the 1st League next year, while Moldova and Israel will move down to the 3rd league, making room for Denmark and Bulgaria, the top two finishers at the 3rd league competition in Marsa.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
Results links:
European Team Championships, 1st League – Budapest
European Team Championships, Second League – Belgrade
European Team Championships, 3rd League – Marsa
In Budapest, World record holder Barbora Spotáková reached 67.63m, her second best effort of the season, to dominate the Javelin Throw competition on Saturday. Her winning effort came in the first round, but even her only other measured throw of 63.96m would have sufficed to defeat Slovenian record holder Martina Ratej, who was a distant second with a 59.77m best.
In the Discus Throw, reigning Olympic champion Gerd Kanter of Estonia defeated Hungary’s Zoltan Kovago for the second straight meeting with a solid 68.76m toss. Kovago, who got the better of Kanter with his victories at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai and the World Challenge meeting in Hengelo, reached 66.64m to finish second. This marked the first victory for Kanter since early May.
Nicoleta Grasu of Romania won the women’s event with a 63.05m season’s best to beat back Czech Vera Cechlova, who threw 61.59m for second.
Urtans blasts through 21m barrier
At the 2nd League meeting in Belgrade, the best mark of the weekend came courtesy of Latvian shot putter Maris Urtans who improved his career best for the second straight meeting. The 29-year-old, who threw 20.75m in Prague on 14 June, broke through the 21-metre barrier in a big way, reaching 21.63m on Saturday to move up to No. 5 on the 2010 season's list.
Asmir Kolasinac of Serbia was a distant second with a season’s best 20.20m.
Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic, who celebrates her 20th birthday today (21), gave herself an early present with a double victory to help Croatia move up into the 1st League in 2011. Perkovic, the Discus Throw winner at New York’s Diamond League fixture last weekend, took her specialty on Saturday with a 63.42m best, and returned on Sunday to win a more modest Shot Put competition, throwing 15.57m.
Also in Belgrade, Latvian Vadims Vasilevskis took top honours in the javelin with an 84.08m season’s best, while Marina Marghieva of Moldova won the Hammer Throw with a 70.29m effort, both on Sunday.
13.32 Hungarian sprint hurdles record for Kiss
Other highlights in Budapest included Daniel Kiss’ 13.32 victory in the 110m Hurdles, a Hungarian national record. The 28-year-old knocked 0.02 from his own previous mark set at the World Championships in Berlin last year.
In the women’s 100m Hurdles contest, Nevin Yanit of Turkey took down a strong field with a wind-assisted 12.74 (+2.1), ahead of Ireland’s Derval O'Rourke (12.80), Eline Berings (12.84) of Belgium, and Swede Susanna Kallur (12.88).
Christian Olsson reached a season’s best 17.29m to win the Triple Jump over Romanian Marian Oprea (16.73m) and Czech Jaroslav Baba took the High Jump with a 2.28m clearance over Swede Linus Thörnblad, the winner last weekend in New York, who topped out at 2.25m.
Augusto – double trouble for Portugal
Portuguese women took three of the four distance events, the most impressive of which was Jessica Augusto. After a solid 9:24.37 solo run to take the 3000m Steeplechase on Saturday, the 28-year-old ran within a second-and-a-half of her PB to win the 1500m on Sunday in 4:09.78.
Her teammate Sara Moreira produced a good victory in the 3000m on Saturday, clocking 8:53.65, ahead of Hungary’s Krisztina Papp (9:06.15), who also finished second in the 1500m.
Also in Belgrade, World champion Blanka Vlasic won the High Jump at 1.94m (three misses at 1.98) and Dmitrij Valukevic of Slovakia took the men’s Triple Jump with a 17.18m leap.
The Czech Republic, which took the team honors in Budapest with 355.5 points, along with Sweden (323.5) and Portugal (295.5) earned promotion to the top league for 2011, with Estonia and Lithuania relegated to the 2nd league next year.
Switzerland (207) and Croatia (200) battled their way to promotion to the 1st League next year, while Moldova and Israel will move down to the 3rd league, making room for Denmark and Bulgaria, the top two finishers at the 3rd league competition in Marsa.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
Results links:
European Team Championships, 1st League – Budapest
European Team Championships, Second League – Belgrade
European Team Championships, 3rd League – Marsa
