Maribel Pérez, a sprinter, was crowned Spanish indoor track champion in the 60-meter dash on Saturday, while Adel Mechaal won the 3,000 on Sunday in the hopes of completing the double with the 1,500, in a Spanish Athletics Championship that lasted all day in Ourense.
The Sevillian was the star of the afternoon, breaking the Spanish 60-meter record twice, first with a time of 7.18 in the semifinals and then with a time of 7.16 in the final. Bernat Canet of Catalonia won the men’s 60-meter final with a time of 6.61 seconds, a personal best, the best Spanish record of the year, a Spanish U-23 record, and the qualifying time for the Belgrade World Cup in two weeks.
Meanwhile, Mechaal continued his European dominance at Expourense, always well placed and with his onslaught in the final 1,000 meters, and already the last run without resistance. With the 1,500, the Catalan will seek for a new double, a test in which he has already excelled. The women’s race was won by Solange Pereira.
Orlando Ortega competed in the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday, matching his fastest time of the year (7.71), but falling short of his goal. The favorites did not need to exert any pressure in order to win on Sunday. Furthermore, national record holder Jordan Daz was unable to compete in the triple jump due to an injury sustained during earlier training, and the title was awarded to José Emilio Bellido, 34.
In the pole vault, Ana Carrasco won, lvaro Corbacho won the high jump, and Belén Toimil won her second weight title. There were additional emotions in the morning of the second day, when a touching homage was paid in remembrance of the victims of the shipwreck of the Galician fishing boat Vila de Pitanxo in Newfoundland, one of whom was Marn athlete Jean Marie Okutu’s older brother.
Eusebio Cáceres, who finished fourth in the Tokyo Olympics, and Héctor Santos, the year’s best record holder with an 8-meter fair, had a close struggle in the length, which the Alicante native won, renewing his title from last year in Madrid and raising his eighth Spanish Championship.
Fátima Diame of Valencia won her fifth long jump title with a single legitimate attempt, the second, when she reached 6.47 meters. In addition, Saleta Fernández won the women’s high jump title on her home turf for the second time in four years, and Jorge Urea won the men’s high jump title despite a rough Friday.
Despite sleeping with bodily problems, the Alicante native won his fourth title with 5,955 points. Urea raced the fences in 7.95 seconds, set a personal best in the pole (5.05), then ran the 1,000 in 2:43.83 seconds. Marcel Uibo, an Estonian guest athlete, won the test with a total of 6,005 points.