It was a day of celebration for Fenerbahce at the European Champion Clubs Cup Track & Field Juniors Group A in Castellon on Saturday as their men retained the title and their women held on to make it a glorious double. Here's the story of the day...
MEN'S MATCH
Fatih Aktas won two individual races and then anchored home the sprint relay team as Fenerbahce took seven events on the way to repeating their success from Brno last year.
It was some day for the squad and for Aktas, who triumphed in the 100m and 200m before his relay exploits.
Eight teams took part, with Fenerbahce lifting the crown with 124 points from the hosts, Playas de Castellon (107), AD Mass Ljubljana (88), Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers (79), Sport Lisboa e Benfica (79), ASK Slavia Praha (77.5), Fiamme Gialle G.Simoni (64) and Tampereen Pyrinto (56).
Fenerbahce dominated and though Shaftesbury begun in fine style as Fellan McGuigan won the opening event, the hammer, with a throw of 64.96m, by the interval after four morning disciplines, it was the Turkish side who were in front with 28 points from Lisboa with 19 and on 18, the trio of Castellon, Fiamme and Praha.
That came after two track wins for Fenerbahce with, firstly, Enis Unsal taking the 400m hurdles in 53.62 from Lisboa’s Diogo Mestre in 54.44 and Tampereen’s Valtteri Toimela in 55.03.
They achieved their second success as the same teams finished one and two as Aktas won the 100m in 10.75 from Lisboa’s Ricardo Pereira in 10.92 with Ljubljana’s Anze Sorn third in 11.09.
The 110m proved another event of maximum points for the Turks with Samir Akovali winning in 14.43 and into the afternoon, after nine events, Fenerbahce had established a 10-point lead with 54 from Castellon with Praha third with 35.
The Spanish hosts won the triple jump with Marcos Ruiz Perez’s 15.57m while Ljubljana won the 800m as Jan Petrac triumphed with 1:50.63 but in the next race, the 400m, Fenerbahce won their fourth event as Fahri Arsoy was first in 49.00 from Ljubljana’s Jakob Janez Vodeb in 49.02.
Andre Pereira won the 3000m steeplechase for Lisboa in 9:20.52 with Ersin Tekal, of Fenerbahce, second in 9:20.60 before the Turkish team had another success when Aktas took the 200m in 21.46 from Fiamme’s Gabriele Gargano in 21.88.
With six events remaining, the outcome was not in doubt as Fenerbahce led with 91 points from Castellon with 72 and Praha with 56.
But Fenerbahce still pushed on, with further wins from Seyhmus Yigitalp in the long jump with 7.18m from the second round and then in the final event, the 4x100m, as Ertan Ozkan, Berk Koksal, Akovali and Aktas combined to triumph in 42.31 as they beat Lisboa, second in 42.72, and Shaftesbury, third in 42.85.
With those six events remaining, it was Shaftesbury who were bottom of the table but victories by Kyle Langford in the 1500m in 3:52.90 and Phillip Crout in the 3000m steeplechase in 8:55.24 saw them climb to safety.
WOMEN'S MATCH
AK Olympic Brno made a fine start to the defence of their title as they moved into a six point lead after the opening four events but Fenerbahce, with European junior shot put champion Emil Dereli in their line-up, had too much in the end as they joined their men’s team as champions.
The Turkish side won with 113 points from Brno (109.5), Windsor, Slough Eton & Harrow (92.5), At Studentesca CA.RI.RI (83), Playas de Castellon (83), AD Mass Ljubljana (72), Tampereen Pyrinto (63) and BTV Aarau LA (62), who were relegated with 62.
One of the key results was the last individual event – and Dereli was in a different class.
She arrived with some record behind her, too, in a year where she added to her 2013 glory at the European Athletics Championships in Rieti by winning bronze at the World Junior Championships in Oregon.
Here in Spain she won with 16.19m with Brno’s Patricia Slosarova second with 12.37m.
Brno took two of the first three events as pole vaulter Rebeka Silhanova’s 3.90m was enough to beat Fenerbahce's Demet Parlak with 3.80m, and teammate Pavla Kuklova took the hammer with her opening throw of 52.98m for victory by five centimetres ahead of Deniz Yaylaci, who was second for the Turks with 52.98m.
A final effort of 49.64m brought Fenerbahce victory in the javelin as Eda Tugsuz threw 49.64m in the last round as she finished ahead of Ljubljana’s Tina Vaupot with 43.87m. With Michaela Dolezelova, of Brno, back in seventh in 33.67m, it meant the score at the top changed.
Brno were now joined on 32 points by Fenerbahce with Castellon third with 29 but then the Turkish side took command in a good afternoon session.
Elif Ozmen won the triple jump with 12.42m from Ljubljana’s Eva Mustar with 12.36m with Monika Banovicova, of Brno, fourth with 12.07m.
And, after nine events, Fenerbahce led with 49 points from Brno with 45.5 and Castellon with 38.
Yet it was a competition which was far from over as Olivia Caesar, of Windsor, won the 400m in 57.48, Marcela Pirkova, of Brno, was third in 58.49 with Fenerbahce’s Hatice Unzir fifth in 59.76.
Then in the discus, Paula Ferrandiz Torregrosa, of Castellon, was first with a best of 43.15m with Patricia Slosarova, of Brno, second with 41.56m and Fenerbahce’s Emine Girgin third with 38.66m.
Now Fenerbahce’s lead on 66 points was by only 2.5 from Brno with Windsor third on 51.5 but with Gulnaz Uskun then winning the 3000m steeplechase, by early evening with four events left, and after a series of good finishes, that advantage for the Turkish women had stretched to 92 points from Brno with 81.5 and Studentesca with 70.
It was not over, though.
As Brno made a late challenge to keep hold of the title, Fenerbahce’s Nuran Satilmis finished a position ahead of Brno’s Carmen Idris Beshirova in the 3000m - second in 10:34.28 from third in 10:47.03 - as Windsor’s Eloise Davison won in 10:23.52.
After Brno were second in the 4x100m in 47.71 as Ljubljana won in 47.63, Fenerbahce were back in seventh in 50.04 and then as the tension mounted, Brno won the final event, the 4x400m in 3:56.61, with Fenerbahce fifth in 4:02.70.
But the Turkish side had done enough to triumph.