CIAT Shines at the Canarias Athletics Invitational

The Canarias Athletics Invitational had promised to become a benchmark for national and international track and field, and it did not disappoint at any point. The lineup of world-class athletes dazzled the large crowd that gathered last Wednesday afternoon in the stands at the Tenerife Athletics Center (CIAT), a facility owned by the Cabildo and managed by the public company Ideco.

In terms of standout athletes, Swedish discus thrower Daniel Stahl deserves special mention, as he won the discus throw with a mark of 68.99 meters. Ana Peleteiro was also one of the highlights of the first edition of this international meet. The Olympian needed only three jumps to claim first place with a distance of 13.82. Bruno Hortelano’s much-anticipated performance was lackluster. He finished sixth with a time of 21.41. The race felt long to him, and he trailed far behind the winner, Switzerland’s Mumenthaler(20.68). As for the Canary Islands athletes, Samuel García also didn’t feel great. The athlete from La Palma finished his 400-meter dash with a time of 48.58, a figure far from his personal bests, leaving him with “a bad feeling.”

Ana Peleteiro, one of the event’s main attractions, was back in competition two months after winning the bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. She did not complete all six attempts to avoid overexerting herself, as she has the peace of mind of being able to manage her season with the assurance that her spot is secured at the European Championships in Rome, which begin on June 7, and at the Olympic Games in Paris starting August 1. On her first jump, she cleared 13.81, and improved by one centimeter on her second attempt, which gave her the mark needed to take first place, with Aina Griksaite finishing second (13.77) and Elena Andreea Talos third (13.57). In this way, the Galician athlete kicked off the outdoor season with her sights set on Paris.

In the discus circle, Olympic champion and two-time world champion Daniel Stahl dominated the competition from the very first throw. The discus thrower sent the discus flying 68.99 on his fourth attempt, sealing his victory ahead of Alekna (66.59). Yasiel Sotero, competing on home soil, finished sixth with a best throw of 62.75.

The biggest source of local joy for the passionate Tenerife crowd came from the Spanish leader of the year in the 400-meter hurdles, an event in which victory stayed at home. Jesús David Delgado won convincingly with a time of 50.50, ahead of Britain’s Marangha Mokaya (51.55), while Ousmane Sidibe finished third (51.73).

For his part, Bruno Hortelano, who has been focusing on the summer season, made his debut in the 200-meter dash, where he faced off against, for example, Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev, the 2017 world champion in London. However, his toughest rival was Switzerland’s Timothé Mumenthaler, who won the race convincingly with a time of 20.68. Shamar Horatio finished second (20.91), and the aforementioned Turkish runner came in third (20.95).

As for the long jump, CIAT was eager to see Eusebio Cáceres compete. The Alicante-born jumper finished in second place, behind China’s Zhang Jingqiang (7.80), who took the lead in the event after his second jump. Cáceres jumped 7.77, while Inger Kiplesund (7.76) took third place.

The competition, which featured 12 events, took place 11 days before the European Championships qualification deadline, and produced the following winners: There was a Spanish victory in the 800 meters, where Javier Mirón, with a time of 1:48.23, crossed the finish line ahead of Morocco’s Smaili and Bosnia’s Tuka. Germany’s Ritter won the women’s shot put with a throw of 18.23, while Romania’s Petronela won the 1,500 meters (4:21.71). The 400-meter races were won by Chile’s Weil (53.61) and Britain’s Carvell (46.90), respectively, with Eva Santidrián (second) and Samuel García (fifth) as the top Spanish finishers.

The event, organized by the Canary Islands Athletics Federation, was made possible thanks to sponsorship from the Tenerife Island Council, the Canary Islands Government, and the Santa Cruz City Council.