Two national records in Greek Indoor Championships
Monday 20 February 2006
http://www.iaaf.org/WIC06/news/Kind=2/newsId=33531.html
Two national records were the highlights of the 20th Greek National Indoor Championships held over the weekend (18 / 19 Feb) in Athens (Peania).
17.12m – Tsiamis beats old national record
On the first day of the Championships, a 24-year-old triple jumper, Dimitrios Tsiamis jumped 17.12m, improving the old national record set by Konstantinos Zalagitis last year (16.95m). Tsiamis, who had a season’s best of 16.90m before the championships, confirmed his participation at next month’s 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships, Moscow, Russia (10 – 12 March) with the record. It will be Tsiamis’ first senior global championships.
Stella (StilianĂ) Pilatou
, the Long Jump silver medallist of the European Indoor Championships 2005, opened her season with 6.67m, setting the standard for Moscow. “I feel ready for longer jumps”, said Pilatou after the competition. “I’m going to participate in the Balkan Games and then Moscow, where I hope to have a good performance.”
Tsatoumas equals own national Long Jump mark
The well-known male long jumper, Louis Tsatoumas, was the star of the second day of the Championships. Tsatoumas, who had already set a season’s best of 8.12m in a meeting held in Peania last week, dominated the competition with 8.15m, equalling his own national record for Greece.
Tsatoumas who won the European U23 Championships in 2001, has had several injury problems in the following years which have restricted his progression. This year he seems also to have resolved some technical problems he had faced and maybe ready for a distinguished season.
Other notable performances of the championships were these set by Alexandra Komnou who clocked 8.10 in the women’s 60m Hurdles, and by 19-year-old Pantelis Melahrinoudis in the men’s 400m, winning in 47.16.
Balkan Games
The Balkan Games will be the next important meeting for the Greek athletes searching for a ticket to Moscow. The Games are held on Wednesday 22February in Peania and some top athletes from Greece’s neighbouring countries have verified their participation. Romania’s Marian Oprea who set a personal best of 17.74m in the national championships last weekend is expected to be the biggest star of the meeting.
Michalis Nikitaridis for the IAAF