The return of Nicole Kyriakopoulos to performances that give her the right to chase participation in the European Championships in Rome was one of the most important moments of this year’s 14th Meeting of Alma in Kallithea.
The experienced champion, after the long period with several problems and difficulties, exceeded 4.40m and then had good jumps at 4.50m, which is also the limit for the European Championships in Rome. The athlete naturally finished her race with a big smile and her coach Fotis Stefanis congratulating her and calling her a “lion” for her competitiveness and combativeness.
“Today was not my best race, but it was the beginning to chase better efforts. I went through a lot of ups and downs in the past and for me it is important that I manage to find my rhythm again. I will do my next race in Venizelia – Chania and I want to participate in at least one more event, so I can chase the limit for Rome”, said the athlete.
Kyrianopoulou surpassed 4.20m and 4.30m with the second and 4.40m with the third and took second place in the race.
The pole vault winner was Eleni Pollak with 4.40 m in her second race of the season after the Interclub Championship. Manolis Karagianni’s vaulter then tried unsuccessfully at a height of 4.50 m, which she will have the opportunity to overcome in her next competition, on Sunday in Chania. 4.30m was surpassed by Ariadni Adamopoulou, who then tried unsuccessfully at 4.40m. The athlete “took advantage” of the event in order to test new poles.
The 15-year-old Mirtsiu, 4.20 meters
15-year-old Ariadni Mirtsiu surpassed 4.20 m and improved her individual record, which was 4.11 m. The youngster may have performances that could bring her among the top athletes in the U18 category, however, due to her age, she is not eligible to participate in the event. The athlete of Gerasimos Tzilios then tried at 4.30 meters. The young woman holds the second all-time performance in her category, behind Katerina Stefanidis (4.37 meters).
Iapikino the big name, individual for Goga
The Italian Larisa Iapicono was without a doubt the big name of the event, as she has great performances. The athlete from Italy and one of the favorites for a medal in Rome and Paris emerged victorious with 6.65m (-0.9) in her sixth and final attempt. Iapichino had two more valid jumps at 6.57m (-1.3) and 6.30m (0.2). Alisa Rotaru (Romania) was second with 6.47m (0.2) and Adriana Goga was third with 6.40m (0.4). The 21-year-old athlete also reached the limit for the U23 European Championship, something she had achieved in the previous period also in the triple jump. The athlete of Nikos Stylianidis will do her next race at the weekend in the Mediterranean Games, where she will compete in both the long jump and the triple jump. Maria Stefanopoulou continued her good performances, who was 4th with 6.35m in her sixth jump, while in her 5th attempt she had achieved 6.34m. After the long period of abstinence from competitive action, Vassiliki Haitidou is gradually returning to action, making today her second competition in a jump of 6.19 meters. Stefanopoulou and Chaitidou will play their next match on Friday in Cyprus.
In the Men’s length, the winner was Andreas Tragikovsky with 7.84 m (0.3), followed by Senini and Pomeri with 7.66 m and 7.64 m. Nikos Stamatonikolos was the best Greek presence, after taking sixth place with a jump of 7.60 meters.
Manolopoulos is the limit in height
The teenage high jumper Giorgos Manolopoulos exceeded 2.13 m and achieved a new individual record and at the same time a performance better than the qualification limit for the U20 World Championship. The young athlete then had good jumps at 2.17m.
“Last year he had some injury problems and I was out for a long time. This year the training is going very well and I think I can chase jumps at 2.20 meters. Today the efforts at 2.17m were very good“, said the young jumper who lives and trains in Sparta with Panagiotis Filippopoulos and Angeliki Andrakakou. The winner of the competition was the Swede Delrid with 2.17 m, followed by Enes Senses with the same height. Third was the Greek jumper.
In the women’s height, the winner was Styliani Ioannou with 1.70 m. in the pole vault, Petros Hatziou with 5.10 m. and in the triple jump, Alexandros Athanasiou with 15.71 m.
Next to another international meeting was the president of SEGAS, Sofia Sakorafa, who had the opportunity to watch the games and make awards.
Source: RES-MPE
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