22nd June 2009 01:37
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| Croatian High Jump star Blanka Vlasic cleared 2.04m to register an easy win at the European Team Championships, 2nd League in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, on Sunday. |
Along with second-place finisher Ireland, Lithuania earned promotion to the 1st League for the 2010 edition of the European Team Championships.
The highlight of the day, however ,was the leap of 2.04 by Croatian High Jump world champion Blanka Vlasic. The Croatian wonder girl produced the best result from all the four leagues to set a new outdoor record on Slovak soil.
Latvia, Austria and Slovakia valiantly contested for the next spots without really threatening the top two. Another interesting duel ensued in the battle to avoid relegation between Bulgaria and Croatia. However Croatia eventually had the last laugh as they finished sixth in the eight-team meet.
Cyprus on the other hand finished last and was relegated to the Third League. The only win for them came through Eleni Artymata, who won the women's 200m race in 23.39.
Vlasic started with 1.84 and went on to clear 1.90 and 1.95, and then jumped 2.00m before 204 on her third try. She made one good attempt at 208, the second best mark of all time, but clipped the pole on her way down.
'It was important for me to finish this first part of competitions in the summer with a good mark. And the one try at 208 was not bad at all,' said Vlasic who will next compete in Oslo at the Golden League meet on July 3.
Another excellent mark, in the women's Hammer, came from world leader Martina Hrasnova when she threw 74.95m in the third round. Home star Jana Veldakova leaped to 6.54 to win the Long Jump ahead of Ireland´s national champion holder Kelly Proper with 6.42.
Bulgarian triple jumper Momchil Karailiev produced another good performance to add eight points to his team's tally with 17.08m.
Lithuania's women were simply unstoppable on the day, winning the 1500m, 5000m, shot put and 4x400m on Sunday.
Ireland's Paul Hession clocked excellent 20.56 at 200m (+0.7), while Croatian hurdler Jurica Grabusic scampered home in 13.69 (-0.3) in the 110m hurdles.
World indoor champion 2006 Derval O´Rourke of Ireland won the 100m hurdles in 13.17 (+0.6) with Slovak record holder Miriam Bobkova finishing a close second (13.22).
Austrian Discus thrower Gerhard Mayer cleared 61.23m to win the men's title.
Click here for complete results.