|
It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. When
asked to report on the Athletics meeting at Gallou Stadium, just outside
Rethymnon, the CMB Sports Correspondents shot up that hill faster than
you could say ‘lycra’, ‘lunch-box’ and ‘zoom-lens’. The 23rd
Vardinoyiannia Track and Field Meeting took place on 18th July. The
‘Vardinoyiannia’ has achieved considerable prestige in recent years,
being one of a select group of area meetings where points can be gained
by athletes to qualify for the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final,
and attracts some of the crème de la crème of the athletics world. And
IT WAS FREE! We were impressed with the Stadium — it’s not huge,
obviously, but certainly does the job. Organisation was fine—events all
went off on time without a hitch. Furthermore, the meeting managed to
maintain a friendly Cretan feel to it, and we had a thoroughly enjoyable
time.
There were many sporting highlights that evening, here are just a few:
Usain Bolt from Jamaica - better known for his prowess at the 200m won
the 100m sprint, achieving a personal best of 10.03. Olympic Champion
Dwight Phillips won the men’s long-jump and achieved a meeting record of
8.31 m. Cristina Casandra from Romania set a new Balkan record for the
women’s 3,000 m steeplechase (9:28:53). Greek athletes put in some
powerful performances: Perikles Iakovakis won the 400 m hurdles and Sava
Lika won the women’s javelin, whilst Chyrsopigi Devetzi and Styliani
Pilatou came second and third, respectively, in the women’s long-jump.
We say: Roll on Vardinoyiannia 24!
|
