A year after being relegated, Estonia forced their way back into the First League after topping the table at the European Team Championships Second League in Novi Sad, Serbia, on Sunday. They will be joined by Bulgaria who fell short by a mere 2.5 points to finish second with 215.5 points.
Both the team will be promoted to the First League for the next edition of the European Team Championships.
Once again Bulgarian star sprinter Ivet Lalova did not disappoint her fans and won the women’s 200m with a time of 23.71. The men’s race was won by Marek NIIT of Estonia in a time of 20.75.
Mart Israel of Estonia won the hammer with a throw of 62.91m. While Kaur Kivistik won the men’s 3000m steeplechase clocking 8:56.84.
“The most important thing for me was to win the maximum points for my team. I am satisfied with my performance today,” said Kivistik.
Hosts Serbia once again missed out on a promotion place finishing third with 188.5 points while Lithuania finished fourth with 185 points.
Latvia and Slovakia were relegated to the Third League after finishing seventh and eighth in the eight team pool. Latvia finished with 147 points while Slovakia closed with 134.5 points.
The other two teams in the league Denmark 177.5 and Austria 172 finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Among other highlights of the day Slovakian hammer thrower lived up to her billing as the favourite by collecting the full 8 points on offer with a throw of 68.09.
Serbian long jumper Ivana Spanovic delighted her home crowd taking the top prize in her event with a leap of 6.58m.
“I am glad I won, even though the result was not the best I can do. The important thing was to win maximum points for my team. The next thing I have to do is to fulfill the World Championships’ and Olympics’ norms,” said Spanovic.
Novi Sad 2011 final standings
1. Estonia 218
2. Bulgaria 215.5
3. Serbia 188.5
4. Lithuania 185
5. Denmark 175
6. Austria 172
7. Latvia 1478. Slovakia 134.5