16th March 2013 06:13
It has been a day of superb competition in the senior events at the 9th European Cup Winter Throwing in Castellon - with many signs for the months ahead.
Senior: Javelin - Women
A majestic, magnificent performance from Russia's world champion Mariya Abakumova brought her victory in Castellon on Saturday - and more, much more.
With her brilliant last round throw of 69.34m, Abakumova soared to the top of the world rankings. It was a record for this European Cup Winter Throwing and set down the type of marker any athlete would like in a year when the World Championships are in their home country.
Abakumova could not have asked for a better to start and by the summer in Moscow, when she defends her world title, she will be hoping to have thrown a few metres more.
Her gold in Daegu came with 71.99m, a national record and the woman who won silver in Beijing in 2008 had achieved the biggest result of her career.
Here in Spain, Martina Ratej, of Slovenia, began as the event's record holder with her 65.96 from Arles in 2010 but Abakumova broke that firstly in the third round with 66.33m.
Ukraine's European champion Vira Rebryk moved into second place in that third round with 62.60m, overtaking Linda Stahl of Germany, who had thrown 60.53m in the second round.
Stahl then increased her best of the day to 61.97m but stayed third as Rebryk reached 63.42m with her final effort. Ratej was sixth with 58.19m.
Senior: Discus - Men
A competition to savour and one that showed age is just a number in athletics. And on this Saturday, the key number was 'three'- the three centimetres that denied 41-year-old Lithuanian double Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna a famous win.
Victory was achieved by Germany's Daniel Jasinski with a personal best of 64.69m, the narrowest of triumphs over Alekna who had led from the fourth round with 64.66m.
When the discus left Jasinski's hand, it looked good. Whether it was going to be far enough for a man whose best of the day had been 63.04m before that, only the measurements would decide.
It was but Alekna was not finished yet.
There has been talk of Alekna retiring but here he showed his competitive spirit is as great as ever and now it was his final turn.
The throw looked good and long but his effort of 64.0m was not long enough to dislodge Jasinski.
Erik Cadee, of the Netherlands, was third with 64.38m with Türkiye's Ercüment Olgundeniz fourth with 64m.
But Olgundeniz remains at the top of the European Athletics rankings with 64.77m from Mersin last month.
Spain's Frank Casanas set his personal best mark at this venue in 2008 with 67.91m but this time it was a season's best of 63.12m for fifth.
Senior: Shot put - Women
The event was expecting a competition between the top three from the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Göteborg but a strike at Dusseldorf airport changed all that.
Christina Schwanitz, the gold medallist, was among six German throwers who were unable to travel because of the difficulties with travel.
In her absence, the form shown by the silver and bronze medallists indoors at the start of the month was maintained outdoors as they finished first and second respectively.
Amazingly, when Russian Yevgeniya Kolodko took silver in Sweden, she did so with an effort of 19.04m. And it was that same distance which brought her victory on Saturday in Castellon.
Her winning shot put came in the third round of an event, which she led from the first round after landing 18.97m.
Behind her Alena Kopets, of Belarus, who was third at the European Athletics Indoor Championships with 18.85m, needed 18.18m for second this time with Russia's Irina Tarasova third with 17.98m.
The competition did show the consistency among the women shot-putters as Tarasova is the silver medallist from the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki and once more she was in the top three.
Senior: Hammer – Men
Olympic and European champion Krisztian Pars flexed his muscles in Castellon to show he has lost none of the aura which took him to such glory in 2012.
Eleventh in the running order, it was his third effort in Spain that initially made the difference.
The hammer soared to 76.80m, not the best by a European this year, but that did not matter. It was a signal that his ability to win against his closest rivals remains a glorious trait as he took the lead and just for good measure, in the final round, he went even further with 77.24m.
Belarussia have been the key players so far in 2013 in the hammer, with Yuriy Shayunov and Pavel Kryvitski the top two in the rankings with 78.99m and 78.85m respectively.
But they could not match those distances on Saturday.
Pars began with 73.51m, before 74.50m, 76.80m and then, after a foul, 75.62m and 77.24m.
Poland's Fajdek, the European under-23 champion, had the lead from the opening round with 75.52m and that looked good enough for second place after Pars' effort until the final round when Kryvitski produced a throw of 75.89m to relegate him to third.
Shayunou's best was a fifth round 74.38m for fifth.
Complete results