Spanish men and Estonia women take top position in European Cup Combined Events, 1st League

Agustin Felix guided the Spainish men's team to the top at the European Cup Combined Events 1st League held over the weekend in Zaragoza, Spain. Photos by Jose Anies.

The men's teams from Spain and Finland joined the women from Estonia and the Czech Republic in earning qualification to the 2010 Super League after finishing on top of their respective categories in the European Cup Combined Events 1st League in the Spanish city of Zaragoza.

The athletes not only had to contend with a strong field but also mercury soaring over 36 degrees on both days. But the athletes withstood both tests and came out with great performances over the two days.

Italy's William Frullani was the star performer of the weekend, topping the individual scoring table with a score of 7828 and a 39 points advantage over Spain's Agustín Félix.

But the Italian's performance was not enough to get promotion for his country and the Italian squad finished way behind hosts Spain (22692) and Finland, runners-up with 22573 points.

Félix's tally was ably supported by his team-mates, Óscar González (7467 for 9th) and Ismael González (7436 for 12th).

As for Finland, Mikko Halvari (7640), Tero Ojala (7521) and Sami Itani (7412) dished out consistent performances over the two days to lead the Scandinavian nation to the Super League in 2010.

The 29-year-old Frullani took command of the competition from the opening event with a 100m win in 10.49s. A 2.01m High Jump clearance followed by a 49.42s sprint in the 400m put the Italian in pole position. Spaniard Félix on the other hand posted a 7.35 Long Jump leap and a 4.90 Pole Vault clearance to make his presence felt.

Before the last event of 1500m, only 19 points separated both decathletes but the Italian managed to keep the Spaniard at bay in the longer distance to take the individual top spot.

After Day One, Italy led by an 18-point margin over the Czech Republic and by 108 points over Spain. The home squad was always in contention for promotion, but they had to wait until the Pole Vault to rise to first place. The Pole Vault marked a turning point as Spain added 2489 points to their tally - largely due to Agustín Félix's 4.90 and Ismael González's 4.80.

Italy's weak finish in the two remaining disciplines - the Javelin and the 1500m - pulled them down to fifth place with 22274 points, putting them behind Czech Republic (22332) and Switzerland (22286).

Great Britain & NI with 22118 and Belgium (21413) followed next while Latvia opted out of the competition and will join the Belgian team in the Second League next year.

Both Frullany and Félix achieved the "B" qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin.

Greek Strataki takes individual honours in Heptathlon, Team Estonia make Super League

Estonian women's team (centre), flanked by the outfit from Czech Republic (left) and Switzerland, on the podium after the conclusion of European Cup Combined Events, 1st League, in Zaragoza, Spain.

Greece's Aryiró Strataki scored an individual victory with a tally of 6021 points. The 33-year-old Greek, who holds a career best of 6235, was the only competitor who was able to go over the 6000 points barrier.

Strataki's success was based on her consistency throughout the two-day competition. She took the lead after the Long Jump with a windy 6.17 effort for second and didn't relent until the end.

In addition, fellow Greek Sofía Ifadidou took third spot with a new PB of 5900, but modest scoring achieved by the third representative did not help the Greek cause.

In contrast, Estonia's balanced squad score of 17170 points hoisted them to the top spot overall, 160 points ahead of the Czech Republic (17010).

Kaje Kand led the Estonian team thanks to a fine tally of 5945 points, good enough to finish second individually. Reigning world junior bronze medallist Grit Sadeiko finished second among the Estonians with 5813 points - a new PB by 48 points. That placed her in fifth while Ebe Reier completed the scoring with a 5412 tally for 16th position.

Jana Koresova carried the Czech Republic flag, finishing fourth in the ndividual rankings with a personal best score of 5892 points.

Koresova was ably supported by Eliksa Klucinova, who recorded 5742 to finish eighth and Katerina Konvalinkova, 18th with a score of 5376.

The Czech Republic finished 61 points clear of Switzerland (16949), while Greece took fourth with 16921.

The top three women, Strataki, Kand and Ifadidou, managed the "B" qualifying standard (5900) for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin.

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