by Stuart Weir
This is Stuart Weir’s 4th column on the European Athletics Team Championships, which was a five day event this last week.
Day 2 report
Day 2 of the European team championships in Poland ended with Italy still in the lead
1 Italy 293
2 Great Britain 258.5
3 Poland 257.5
4 Germany 256.5
Italy will be hard to catch, but second and third places are very much up for grabs. GB is in second, despite having the misfortune of having both sprint relay teams finish well and then be DQed at a cost of more than 25 points.
There were a number of world-class performances, which would have impressed in any competition, again sadly taking place in a 50,000-capacity stadium with perhaps one or two thousand spectators present. After two days, 13 countries have won an event, but with the points system, consistency is as good as a win. Italy, who are top, have won four events while Britain, in second place, has won none.
The day finished with the two sprint relays. 16 teams in each, with a total of 7 teams DQed. A very unsatisfactory way for the day to send especially as some teams went through the mixed zone, answering questions about their performances – only to discover later that they were DQed. We have to do better.
Results
Men
1500m: Mohamed Katir, Spain 3:36.95
110m hurdles: Jason Joseph, Switzerland 13.12
400m hurdles: Alessandro Sibilio, Italy, 48.14
Hammer: Wojciech Nowicki, Poland 79.61
Long Jump: Mitiadis Tentoglou, Greece 8.34
Discus: Daniel Stahl, Sweden 67.25
4 X100 relay: Germany 38.34
Women
800m: Audrey Werro, Switzerland 1:59.95
100m hurdles: Pia Skrzyszowska, Poland, 12.77
400m hurdles: Carolina Krafzik, Germany 54.47
PV: Wilma Murto, Finland 4.71
Triple Jump: Tugba Danismaz, Turkey 14:16
4 X100 relay: Netherlands 42.61
Trivia of the day
According to the press briefing sheets, Mohamed Katir, winner of the 1500m, likes boxing and writing poems! Jason Joseph, winner of the 100m hurdles, spends his free time cooking and playing basketball.
