Romania and Turkey in the top places at Balkan M. R. Championships. Bulgaria and Serbia won medals.
Turkey and Romania won both four gold medals, Turkey in total took ten medals (plus four silver and two bronze), instead Romania gained in total nine medals (three silver and two bronze). On the podium also Bulgaria with one silver and two bronze medals and host Country Serbia who obtained two bronze medals. But really interesting were the presence of Albania, Greece and FYR of Macedonia with important top position in some races." "
In details in the junior women races Turkish Yasemin Can (twice junior World Champion and one time junior European Champion) wan the Balkan title (with 17.08) in front of two Romanian: Denisa Ionela Dragomir, second with 17.53 and Rebecca Rus, third with 18.29. Romanian team (thanking the places of Adelina Georgina Moroita (fith) and Andrada Iuliana Bulgarasu (sixth) won the gold medal defeating Turkey and host Country, Serbia. Albania junior women team finished in fourth position. Bulgaria (best runner of this team was Marinela Nineva, fourth) started with an incomplete team.
Also in the men junior race victory was for the Turkish runners with a strong team that was also Balkan Champions 2011 due the fact that all the four members finished in the first five positions.Balkan Champion was Turkish Sonmez Dag (31.58), silver medallist was Turkish Nuri Komur (32.15) while the other two member of the Turkish team Ahmet Ozrek (33.42) and Yetkin Tunctan (34.36) finished fourth and fifth. Only Romanian Istvan Szobolcs Gyorgy (33.27) was able to break the hegemony of the Turkish runners, winning bronze medal. Interesting the tenth position of Macedonian runner, Milosh Ranciki, who arrived behind four Turkish, four Romanian and one Bulgarian runner, but before the other ten runners who took part to this event. In the team behind the Turkish team, Balkan Champion 2011, second place and silver medal for Romania and third place with bronze medal for Bulgaria. Fourth team was Serbia and fifth team Albania.
Very interesting and fighting was the senior women race where the winner was Romanian Cristina Alexandra Frumuz which managed to overcome the Turkish Yagmur Tarhan during the last part of the final lap. Frumuz finished race in 36.52, second was Bulgarian Milka Mihaylova (in 37.11), who tried until the end of the race for wimming the Balkan title. Third was the Turkish Yagmur Tarhan (37.46) who lost position during the final part of the race. , On the podium for team result Romania was Balkan Champion 2011 (with 12 points) in front of Turkey (16 points) and Bulgaria (19 points). Fourth position for host Country Serbia (37 points).
The men senior race was a show for the winner: Romanian Ionut Alin Zinca (time of 45.46) run all the three laps in leading position without offer any chance for the victory for the four Turkish runners who finished the race in second (Mehmet Akkoyun: 46.06), third (Adem Karatas: 46.12) fourth (Ridvan Bozkurt: 46.55) and fifth (Deniz Kazan: 47.09) position. Five full team in the result. Balkan Champions 2011 was Turkey (9 points), silver medal was Romania (18 points) and Serbia won bronze medal (33 points): Bulgaria lost medal only for one point (34 points) and FYR of Makedonia finished in fifth place (54 points) As individual result must be underlined the ninth place of the Albanian runner Ilir Kellezi and the thirteenth place for the Greek runner Georgios Dialektos.
Event Director Goran Cegar did his best to organise this event on highest level: ,a lot of positive comments by the participants: LOC and Municipality of Dimitrovgrad have done really a great job in the organisation of the event under many profile: technical aspect of the race, protocol, accommodation, transport, media end press, facilities and so on.The event is staged by ABAF (Association of Balkan Athletic Federation) and Bulgariana Galia Puhaleva , General Secretary oif ABAF (also WMRA Council member) attended to the competition.
Event promoteur was ,a legend of ,Serbian athletics, Vera Nikolic, former World record holder and two times European champion in 800m.
Bruno Gozzelino, WMRA President, together Erhan Basoglu, (WMRA Council member) - both present to the event - applauded for the work well done by ABAF, by Serbia Athletic Federation, by LOC and by the Municipality of Dimitrovgrad.
Full result are available in the webpage of the Serbian Athletic Federation and on WMRA webpage.
News by Bruno Gozzelino
Photos by Dusan Jankovic (LOC)
In front page: participating team