Louis Tsatoumas (GRE) (© Bongarts/Getty Images)
All the current stars of the Greek athletics scene performed almost as expected and some young athletes brought added brightness to the 93rd Greek Championships for men and 72nd for women, held from Friday (15) to Sunday (17) in Athens Olympic Stadium.
Once again Luis Tsatoumas became the top attraction of the meeting, achieving a winning Long Jump of 8.37m, while convincing performances set by Chrysopigi Devetzi, Periklis Iakovakis and Fani Halkia proved their readiness for the Munich European Cup Super League and the World Championships in Osaka.
Tsatoumas - 8.37m
After jumping 8.66m and 8.54m in the past fifteen days, Luis Tsatoumas in Saturday’s qualification round leapt 8.20m to qualify for the final. Next day, he took only two of his attempts, having an invalid jump in the first round, which he followed up with a jump of 8.37m, a new championships record.
Having secured the win he decided to leave the competition saying, “I have many obligations this year, I protect myself as I’m going to participate in meetings up to late September. I’m in a very good condition; I have improved my speed and jumping technique. After the European Cup I’m going on with further international meetings abroad.”
Devetzi takes double win with 15.01w and 6.56
Chrysopigi Devetzi seems to have decided not to let the Osaka World Championships, go by without making her presence felt.
Actually Devetzi opened the show in Athens Olympic Stadium, as the women's Triple Jump was the starting event of the national Champs, producing a 15.01m jump in the first round. This mark was wind assisted (+2.2 m/s), but enough to secure the win, while she had a non-assisted attempt of 14.52m.
Another promising triple jumper, Athanasia Perra, 24, who has already set the standard for Osaka, was second with 14.29m. Perra was bronze medallist in the European U23 Championships in 2005, she won a silver in the European Juniors Championships in 2001 and now starts expanding her career at the senior level. Niki Paneta, 21, set a personal best 14.00m to get the third place and make the standard for the European Under 23 Championships to be held in Debrecen, Hungary (July 15-17).
On Sunday, Devetzi took a second victory exactly as she did one year ago. The women’s Long Jump was totally dominated by the triple jumpers as besides Devetzi who jumped 6.56m, Athanasia Perra set a personal best 6.48m to get the second place.
The men’s Triple Jump was won by the national record holder Dimitrios Tsiamis, who had his best attempt of 16.97m. Konstantinos Zalagitis returned after a long period of injury problems and placed second with 16.70m.
Douvalidis sets national 110mh record with 13.59
Konstantinos Douvalidis, has been considered as one of the warmest prospects for the Greek athletics. On Sunday he participated for first time in the national senior championships, having the best season’s performance for Greece with 13.62, just one hundredth slower than the national men’s record.
Although he started the race dynamically, the 20-year-old hurdler seemed to have problems in his effort to pass some hurdles in the middle of the race but still managed to break the national record, clocking an impressing 13.59 and setting the standard for Osaka.
Douvalidis was born and lives in the town of Drama, he has a Greek mother and an American father. In 2005 he won the silver medal in the European Juniors Championships and next year the bronze medal of the World Juniors Championships. In 2004 he clocked 13.22 setting a World Youth best.
Karastamati finally returns, Stergioulis clocks 10.28
The women’s 100m was eagerly awaited because of the expected return of the European Under 23 champion, Maria Karastamati. The 24-year-old sprinter had impressed in 2005 but then disappeared because of a serious injury. In this weekend’s Greek Championships she won the final with 11.39.
“At last I can run. I’m not in a hurry, my first priority is my health, faster races are coming,” she said after her win.
One of the highlights of the 3-day championships was the final of the men’s 100m race. A young athlete, Eftymios Stergioulis, 22, won with 10.28, actually the best time by a Greek sprinter in the last few years. Stergioulis had impressed three years ago when he set a personal best of 10.33 and now needs some more races in order to claim his participation in the World Championships.
Halkia wins the 400m, Iakovakis dominates 400mH
Olympic 400m Hurdles champion Fani Halkia, opened her season, although not in her main event. She ran only in the flat 400m, where she won with 52.06 and, as she stated, plans to participate in hurdles races in the second part of her preparation for Osaka, starting in July.
European champion Periklis Iakovakis, was also running his first race of the season and won the men’s 400m Hurdles in 49.13. Minas Alozidis placed second with a personal best of 49.24, slightly outside the standard for the World Championships, but there is no doubt that the 23-year-old hurdler has the potential to make it in the future meetings.
Steeplechase record
There was a national record in the women’s 3000m Steeplechase set by Irene Kokinariou, who clocked 9.42.97, who ran alone in the greatest part of the race and set the standard for the World Championships.
Cypriot Kyriakos Ioannou, finalist of the Athens Olympics and the European Championships in Gothenburg, won the High Jump with 2.27m. Antonia Stergiou, won her first national title in the women’s High Jump with a personal best at 1.93m which equals the national Under 23 record for Greece.
Flora Redoumi had no difficulty to win the women’s 100m Hurdles in 13.01, Konstantinos Filippidis, 21, cleared 5.40m in the men’s Pole Vault. In the women’s Pole Vault, Afroditi Skafida cleared 4.31m and attempted unsuccessfully to improve her national record at 4.50m. The former European Junior champion of the 400m, Dimitrios Gravalos returned victorious. He won with 46.41. Alexandra Papageorgiou dominated the women’s Hammer Throw with 68.88m.
Michalis Nikitaridis for the IAAF
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