MADRID, 29 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s team, made up of Carlos Mayo, Rober Aláiz, Juan Antonio ‘Chiki’ Pérez, Jesús Ramos, Yago Rojo and Zakaria Boufaljat, won the silver medal this Sunday in the 10,000-meter European Cup in Pacé (France) , while the female quartet, with Maitane Melero, Meritxell Soler, Beatriz Álvarez and Ester Navarrete, finished fifth.
The Aragonese Carlos Mayo, third in 2021, was the best Spaniard when he entered second at the finish line with a time of 27:53.12 -managing to go below 28 minutes for the second time this season and for the third time in his career-, only behind the French Jimmy Gressier. The Turkish Aras Kaya was third (27:58.08).
Leonese Rober Aláiz, who returned to compete with Spain seven years later after an ordeal in the form of injuries, signed an eighth place with a personal best of 28:04.01, which is worth the minimum for the European Championships in Munich. After him, ‘Chiki’ Pérez closed the Spanish score (1:24:05.79) with sixteenth place in 28:08.66. In 20th position, Jesús Ramos crossed the finish line (28:32.33), followed by Yago Rojo, 22nd with 28:35.77; and Zakaria Boufaljat, 30th with 29:38.31.
It is the 21st time that Spain has climbed to the podium for teams in the men’s category, and the eighth time that it has achieved the continental runner-up position. France was proclaimed champion with a sum of times of 1:23:30.11, and Germany got third place with 1:24:47.49.
In the women’s event, where Spain was fifth by teams with a total time of 1:38:30.23, the Navarran Maitane Melero managed to finish fifth and smashed her personal best with a time of 32:08.57. The second best of the Spanish was Meritxell Soler, who made the best mark of her life on her track with 32: 54.28 that earned her 17th place. Ester Navarrete closed the scoring, coming close to her personal best with 33: 27.38 and sixth place in Final B. In addition, Beatriz Álvarez finished 26th with 33: 34.60.
Germany was proclaimed women’s team champion with a total time of 1:36:09.44, followed by Turkey (1:37:14.68) and Great Britain (1:37:54.89). In the individual classification, the Turkish Yasemin Can won with 31:20.18, the best record of a European in 2022. The second place went to the German Alina Reh (31:39.86) and the third, to her compatriot Katharina Steinruck (32 :03.88).