Spain’s Mario Pestano proves a point in Luzern – European Athletics (EAA) – News

The men’s discus proved to be the highlight from continental perspective of the European Athletics Outdoor Classic Meeting in the Swiss town of Luzern on Sunday, with Spain’s Mario Pestano winning with a throw of 65.17m.

The Canary islander couldn’t get among the medals in front of a home crowd at the European Athletics Championships a week ago, finishing a disappointed sixth in Barcelona, but with the pressure lifted he beat Germany’s silver medallist Robert Harting.

The reigning world champion Harting had to settle for second again, albeit on a smaller stage than in the Catalan capital, with his best being 64.93m.

Harting’s compatriot Martin Wierig, the 2007 European Athletics U-23 Championships gold medallist who was seventh in Barcelona, was barely half-a-metre below his best with 64.01m in third.

Another Barcelona finalist returning to action in the Notwil stadium was Great Britain’s 800m runner Jemma Simpson, who finished third in 1:59.34, less than half-a-second outside her best, in a highly competitive race over two laps of the track won by the United States’ Morgen Uceny in a personal best of 1:58.67.

Slovakia’s Lucia Klocova was fourth, just like in Barcelona when on that occasion she finished one place in front of Simpson, in 2:00.48.

Switzerland’s 21-year-old Lisa Urech got plenty of cheers as one of the home stars when she finished third in the 100m hurdles in 12.88, just four-hundredths outside her best which is also the Swiss U23 record, behind the Australian winner Sally Pearson who ran 12.59.

Great Britain’s Marlon Devonish set a season’s best of 10.18 when beating the top American sprinter Wallace Spearmon in the 100m B-race.

Spearmon turned the tables on Devonish just over an hour later when they contested the 200m, clocking 20.18 his British rival’s 20.40, but Devonish was rewarded with his second season’s best of the day and moved up to number six on the 2010 European list for the longer sprint

Jamaica’s Nesta Carter provided the moment of the meeting internationally when he flew to 9.86 to win to the 100m A-race, just coming home ahead of the United States’ Walter Dix, who ran 9.88. Both Carter and Dix got personal bests.

Great Britain’s David Hughes won the 400m hurdles B-race in a personal best of 49.58 and relegated the Czech Republic’s Josef Prorok, a European Athletics Championships finalist who set a personal best of 49.68 when he finished sixth in Barcelona, to second place in 50.15.

The 26 year-old from Sheffield was the 2005 European Athletics U23 Championships 110m hurdles gold medallist but switched to the longer event at the start of this year.

Puerto Rico’s 2009 World Championships silver medallist Javier Culson won the A-race in 48.79.

Brittney Reese, from the United States, was another winner from across the Atlantic when she took her specialist event with a wind-assisted 6.95m to head an American clean sweep of the places on the podium but Slovakia’s Renata Medgyesova got a personal best of 6.79m for fourth.

European Athletics (EAA) – News