Fátima Diame and Andrea Medina open the 2026 winners’ list at the Spanish Short Track Athletics Championship

The 2026 Spanish Short Track Athletics Championships began this Friday at the Palacio Velodromo Luis Puig in Valencia, where Fátima Diame, in the women’s long jump, and Andrea Medina, in the women’s pentathlon, have achieved the first titles of this 62nd edition.

The famous oval venue in the capital of Turia inaugurated the first round of competition with the objective among several athletes to further refine their set-up for the next Short Track World Championship, which will be held from March 21 to 23 in the city of Nanjing (China).

Thus, the combined events took center stage and even the women’s pentathlon was completed. That gold medal for Andrea Medina, with 4,161 points in total, was cemented by her partial victories in the high jump (1.74 m) and the shot put (13.05 m); the silver went to Paula Pérez (3,976 pts.) and the bronze went to Ivet Rovira (3,935 pts.).

Meanwhile, in the men’s heptathlon, the 60-meter dash, the shot put, and the long and high jumps were held, with Tayb David Loum taking the provisional lead with 3,343 points.

Furthermore, in this afternoon session there was only one other direct final. And there the Valencian Fátima Diame was a prophet in her land with the victory in the length with her best jump of 6.62 m; In second position was Irati Mitxelena (6.54 m) and in third place was Evelyn Yankey (6.35 m).

Of the rest of the tartan events, it stood out that the veteran Óscar Husillos did not enter the men’s 400 meters final, after having achieved a time of 47.40 in his semifinal. David García Zurita and Gerson Pozo, with respective records of 46.73 and 46.95, were the two best athletes.

On the other hand, in the women’s 400 meters, runners such as Blanca Hervás, Daniela Fra, Carmen Avilés and Paula Sevilla fulfilled their predictions with two victories in their semi-final series. Alba Borrero, Carmen Marco and Esperança Cladera also advanced as favorites to their final of the women’s 200 meters, only them dropping below 24.00.

Regarding the men’s double hectometer, more equal in marks, Daniel Rodríguez Serrano, with 21.24, and Ignacio Sáez and Andoni Calbano, both with 21.25, entered the final being the fastest. And finally, in the men’s 3,000 meters, Eduardo Menacho won the first semi-final (8:27.18) and Yahya Aouina won the second ‘semi’ (8:12.98).