On the second day of the European Athletics Team Championship 2nd League, the battle was rampant for the placement in the 1st League. National teams of Switzerland, Austria and Croatia in turn, changed places in the leading position on the score board. However, the relay 4×400m for men decided the winner. Next year, in the 1st League we will see Switzerland and Croatia.
At the very start of the second competition day, Tatjana Jelaca, who competed in the Javelin Throw, finished first with the result 58,52m and brought Serbia the maximum number of points.
“I expected better results in the last two attempts but the loss of concentration took its toll. I hope that in Barcelona I will give my best. I trained intensively in the past two months, but for the European Team Championship, I trained since January,“ said Jelaca.
Olivera Jevtic also won maximum points for Serbia in the 5000m race, with the result 15:37,67. She left her rivals for one whole round. Marina Muncan, in a tactical battle for points, came second, after Oxana Juravel from Moldova, and won 7 points for Serbia.
“I did not have any special strategy except for trying to preserve my strength during the first part of the ace and then to press on until the end. My chief rival was Marina Muncan,” stated the winner of the 5000m race Oxana Jurval.
At the Long Jump, the take off board witnessed another national record breaking result for Serbia. The audience at the stadium saw Ivana Spanovic, in her second attempt, jump over 7 meters. Unfortunately, it was ruled a foul. However, in her third attempt, she jumped 6,78m. That was the fourth best result in Europe.
“I am satisfied with the first place. I feel a little guilty about the second jump. I jumped well before the domestic audiences; they rooted for me. I’ll miss them in Barcelona,” said Spanovic.
Goran Nava was also fantastic. In two races he had two victories. Nava triumphed and showed that he can run faster than many of his opponents. His result was 1:51,74.
“I am satisfied. I gave my best and I was going in for the kill. It wasn’t easy. Last year I did not win and for that reason this victory means so much more to me. My strategy was very good and my aim was to be placed either first or second after the first round. During the last 200m I launched the attack on my opponents and it paid off. This Stadium is very special to me. I hope the Olympic Games would be organized here one day,” said Nava.
Darko Zivanovic won in the 3000m Steeple Chase race with the result 8:57,87.”I am very satisfied with my victory. I was better than the five of my rivals who were better placed than me. My plan was to dictate my own rhythm from the start. It paid off. This is my best result in this season,” said Zivanovic after the race.
The great athletic star Blanka Vlasic won with the result 194cm. Rain and slippery runway did not allow her to achieve a better result, but the best athlete in the world showed how proud she is to compete for her national team.
“I felt great during each attempt. Worm-ups were excellent. I wish I have had several more attempts; my final jump would have been better. At present, I am preparing for championships in Barcelona, Paris and Madrid. Weather conditions did not bother me.”
In the 100m Hurdle race the winner was the Austrian athlete Victoria Schreibeis with the result 13,19sec. After the race she commented:” I am satisfied with the race. I am happy to have broken my personal record and to have reached the norm for the European Championship. I now intend to focus on preparing for the forthcoming Championship.”
Jurica Grabusic brought Croatia 8 points for winning in the 110m Hurdle race. “I did not expect to win. This was not a very good year for me as I had problem with my upper thigh but I managed to recover relatively quickly. My results this season were: 13,56sec, 13,73sec and now, in Belgrade, 13,67 seconds,” said Grabusic.
Dmitrij Valukevic from Slovakia achieved a fantastic result in Triple Jump (M) – 17,18m. Very few triple jumpers in Europe have jumped more than 17m this season.
Mujinga Kambundja (SUI) triumphed in the 200m race: “I didn’t expect to win but I secretly hoped I would. I did not have a special training regiment for this meet because I am, at present, preparing for the European Junior Championship. Competition was very strong. I had no special strategy for the race. I just kept going.
Ryan Moseley from Austria won in the 200m race. After the race he said: “I am satisfied with the race even though I could have done better. For a moment one of the opponents and I touched and it slowed me down. However, I managed to win in the end.”
In the Hammer Throw event, the Moldovan athlete Marina Maghiev triumphed with the result 70,29m – an exceptionally fine result. Victorious was also the Olympics silver medallist Vadims Vasilieskis from Latvia with a fantastic throw of 84,08m.
In relay 4×400m for women Swiss athletes were the best. In the 4×400m relay for men, the Swiss were also victorious bringing maximum points to the score board for Switzerland.
Placements:
- Switzerland (SUI) 207
- Croatia (CRO) 200
- Austria (AUT) 193,5
- Serbia (SRB) 180,5
- Slovakia (SVK) 179,5
- Latvia (LAT) 179,5
- Moldova (MDA) 150,5
- Israel (ISR) 142,5
