Clash of the Stars at CIAT

There will be a showdown between Olympic medalists on May 15 in Tenerife. The Canarias Athletics Invitational has confirmed the participation of Spanish record-holder Ana Peleteiro and Portugal’s Patricia Mamona, who won bronze and silver, respectively, at the recent Tokyo Olympics. The Tenerife Athletics Center (CIAT) will host one of the most exciting triple jump contests ever seen.

Peleteiro will join CIAT after taking the podium at the World Championships in Glasgow, where she won a bronze medal in her return to international competition following the birth of her child. In addition, her jump of 14.76 meters on her fifth attempt helped her meet the Olympic qualifying standard, securing her a spot at this summer’s Paris Olympics.

The Galician athlete has made it clear over the past few months that Olympic medals are her main goal for the season. Despite her maternity leave, Iván Pedroso’s protégée has shown that she’s in top form on her return to the track, as she noted in an interview with Vogue, in which she said, “I feel great. I’m doing things I’ve never done before. My coach is very proud.”

It’s clear she’ll need to be at her best, because in Tenerife she’ll face an old rival. Portugal’s Patricia Mamona, the current Olympic silver medalist, will also be looking to find her best form on the island ahead of Paris. The Angolan-born athlete, who has been both an indoor and outdoor European champion, will star alongside Peleteiro in one of the meet’s biggest showdowns.

The long jump will also be featured at the event, with Spanish record-holder Eusebio Cáceres competing. The Alicante-born jumper, who shares a coach with Peleteiro, will compete at the Canarias Athletics Invitational in hopes of meeting the Olympic qualifying standard that will allow him to compete this summer in Paris, where he will aim to defend the fourth-place finish he achieved at Tokyo 2020.

Another athlete looking to defend his title from the last Olympics is Sweden’s Daniel Stahl, although the challenge here is even greater. The Swedish discus thrower arrives in Tenerife as the reigning Olympic and world champion, and at 31, he’ll be looking to add to his legacy this summer in Paris. Canarias Athletics will be a highlight in the Solna native’s preparation, and he’s sure to delight Canarian fans with his throws.

A high-level match

This event is an invitational competition organized by the Canary Islands Athletics Federation that will feature the best regional, national, and international athletes, including Olympic and world championship medalists.

The meet will feature a program of 12 events, 6 in the men’s division and 6 in the women’s division. In the men’s division, the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter races will be held, in addition to the 400-meter hurdles. There will also be events for the discus throw and the long jump. For the women’s category, the 200-, 400-, and 1,500-meter races are scheduled, along with the 400-meter hurdles. In addition, the field events will include both the triple jump and the shot put.

The lineup of athletes expected on the CIAT tracks will be spectacular. Another major attraction will be Bruno Hortelano, the greatest Spanish sprinter of all time. The national record holder in the 100, 200, and 400 meters, the 2016 European champion in Amsterdam, and an Olympic semifinalist, he will aim to meet the qualifying standard that will earn him a spot at the Olympics in the 200 meters—his signature event—in what will be his first appearance in that event this season.

400-meter sprinter Samuel García, of Tenerife CajaCanarias, will be another of the meet’s main attractions. Considered the best sprinter in the history of the Canary Islands, the athlete from La Palma has been the Spanish national champion on several occasions and an international medalist in the 4x400m relay, with which he also broke the Spanish record in that event at last year’s World Championships in Budapest.

Discus thrower Yasiel Sotero will also be competing in the event. The former European U18 and U20 champion returned to competition in 2023 after open-heart surgery and did so in top form. He burst back onto the national and international scene by claiming the Spanish senior title, adding a bronze medal at the European U23 Championships, breaking the Spanish record for the age group—set by Mario Pestano in 1999—twice, and making his senior international debut with a fourth-place finish at the European Games, in addition to competing at the World Championships in Budapest.

This event will be made possible thanks to sponsorship from the Government of the Canary Islands, the Tenerife Island Council, and the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, as well as the collaboration of Viajes Insular, Puma, and Hotel Atlántida Santa Cruz.