16th March 2013 04:16
Under – 23: Discus - Men
Montenegro's Danijel Furtula is expecting a busy weekend in Castellon and the 21-year-old at the top of the European under-23 discus rankings started in style.
This event was the opening under-23 competition in Castellon and three rounds in, Furtula, who is also entered for the shot put on Sunday, delivered the throw which brought him victory.
His effort of 62.10m was not as far as the mark which has put him at the top of the under-23 rankings - 64.60m - but it came at the right moment on not the most consistent day for him.
Having failed on his first round, he then reached 57.38m in the second, while his fourth, fifth and sixth efforts were all 'no-throws'.
A fourth-round 61.66m by Ukraine's Mykyta Nesterenko would have given Furtula worry but that was the closest anyone came, with Italy's Eduardo Albertazzi third with 60.69m from the second round.
Under - 23: Shot put – Women
Emel Dereli, who finished eighth at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona last year, registered a fine win in a big year for her age group.
The European Athletics U23 Championships are taking place in Tampere in July and Dereli needed just her first throw to show her ability.
The effort landed 16.78m and was enough for victory, which was probably just as well, because after 16.71m in the next round, she then suffered four fouls.
Sophie McKinna, of Britain, was second with 16.09m with France's Fabienne Ngoma third with a personal best of 15.45.
But in this early stage of the year, all nine athletes, with Ukraine's Viktoriya Klochko last with 13.65m, now fill the top nine spots on the European Athletics Under-23 rankings.
Under - 23: Hammer - Men
Quentin Bigot tasted the big time by competing at the Olympic Games in London where he was 24th in qualifying with 72.42m. But so far in 2013 he has thrown 74m and now, with an effort 71.79m in Castellon today, he is the European Cup Winter Throwing champion.
His performance came in a consistent programme of 69.66m, 70.78m, 69.01m, his winning effort in the fourth round, 71.65m and 70.73m.
It was a close competition with Hungary's Akos Hudi finishing second with 70.20m and Serghei Marghiev, of Moldova, third with a last-round 69.72m that edged so close to over-taking the two men in front of him.
Hudi celebrated his 21st birthday during the Olympics where this event became a time of major joy for the whole of his country as Krisztian Pars won the gold medal.
Now Hudi, along with Bigot, will be looking for medals at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Tampere in July.
The big surprise was the lack of impact from Belarussian Zakhar Makhrosenka, who is top of the European Athletics rankings with 76.08m from last month. He was back in fifth with a fifth round best of 67.63m.
Under - 23: Javelin - Women
Hanna Habina lived up to all the expectation to win the Under-23 event with her first throw.
The 58.58m was enough for victory by over two metres as the Ukrainian maintained her control of this event. Not as far as her best for 2013 of 60.98m which leads the European under-23 rankings, but a throw that brought her this title from the first time she let go of the javelin.
First round, and the triumph was hers, and the rest of the field will now know what they will come up against at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Tampere in July.
Russian Yekaterina Starygina took silver with her fourth round throw of 56.39m with Tatsiana Khaladovich third with 55.74m from the third round.