29th June 2009 09:10
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| 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 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, “scar 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
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| Estonian women's |