The richly talented Maria Vicente made a successful return to competition after 14 months out at the Toni Bonet Meeting in Ibiza on Saturday (10).
The Spanish athlete ruptured an Achilles at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March 2024, but she made a heartening return at the World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meeting, landing at 6.12m (+0.3m/s) in the long jump and winning the 100m hurdles in 13.33 (+1.2m/s).
Vicente is a former European U20, World U18 and European U18 champion in the heptathlon and a return to full fitness will be a boost to Spanish hopes ahead of next month’s Madrid 2025 European Athletics Team Championships Division 1.
There was also a solid season’s best from Enrique Llopis in the men’s 110m hurdles. The Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships silver medallist won in 13.31 (+1.4m/s).
Solid throws from Stanek, Ghelber and Rolvink
At the first European Athletics live streamed event of the summer in Domazlice, Czechia, home hero Tomáš Staněk won the men’s shot with 20.17m and Germany’s 2016 Olympic javelin champion Thomas Röhler won with 80.38m at Sunday’s (11) World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting.
There was also a solid season opener from Romania’s Bianca Ghelber at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai on Friday (9). The Munich 2022 European champion won with 72.18m.
At the Ter Specke Cup in Lisse, the Netherlands’ Ruben Rolvink threw a personal best 65.18m to win the men’s discus, and Dutch U20 records fell to Elise de Jong (4.45m, pole vault) and Medelief van Leur (37.76, 300m).
In Belgium’s Flanders Cup in Lokeren on Sunday (11), Germany’s Elena Kelety clocked a promising 55.63 in the 400m hurdles opener. 19-year-old Belgian hurdler Zeno Van Neygen impressed with a 13.60 personal best in his 110m hurdles debut.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics