Lorena Arenas in the 10,000m race walk at the Ibero-American Championships (© Organisers)
Brazil dominated the 18th edition of the Ibero-American Championships, which took place from 24 to 26 August at the Estadio Chan-Chan in Trujillo, Peru, but Colombia’s Lorena Arenas delivered the top performance of the championships.
The 24-year-old won the 10,000m race walk in 42:02.99, breaking the championship and South American records. Her time also narrowly missed the world record of 41:56.23 set 28 years ago by Russia’s Nadezhda Ryashkina.
The 2012 world U20 bronze medallist, who finished fifth in the 20km at the 2017 World Championships, beat Peru’s Kimberley García (42:56.97) and Ecuador’s world U18 champion Glenda Morejón (44:12.75), both of whom set national records.
Brazilians Romani and De Morais warm up for Ostrava
Darlan Romani, the South American record holder in the shot put, successfully defended his title with a championship best of 20.74m. The 27-year-old from Concórdia, who is fourth on the 2018 world lists and will be part of the Americas team at the upcoming IAAF Continental Cup Ostrava 2018, produced a solid series: 20.74m, 20.16m, 20.71m, 20.67m, 20.60m and 20.07m.
Any one of Romani’s efforts would have been sufficient to win as Portugal’s Tsanko Arnaudov was second with 19.34m.
Discus thrower Andressa de Morais, who has also set a South American record this season, won her event with 62.02m in preparation for Ostrava, ahead of compatriot Fernanda Raquel Martins (second with 60.14m).
De Morais, seventh on the 2018 world lists, regained the Ibero-American title after winning her first in 2012.
Brazilians totalized 34 medals (18 gold) to top the table for their tenth time at the event. Vitória Cristina Rosa and Altobeli da Silva delivered four of those triumphs.
Rosa, the South American 200m champion, won the 100m-200m double in 11.33 and 22.90, setting a championship record in the latter event. Olympic finalist Da Silva retained his steeplechase title with 8:35.57 and won the 3000m with 7:57.52.
Other fine performances by Brazilian athletes came from Jorge Henrique Vides, who won the 200m with a personal best of 20.34 ahead of his compatriot Aldemir Gomes da Silva (20.42). Both of them, alongside Paulo André de Oliveira and Gabriel Constantino, produced victory in the 4x100m with 38.78.
Geisa Arcanjo, sixth at the 2012 Olympic Games, set a season’s best with her 18.10m shot put victory.
Colombia was second on the medals table with a total of eight, six of them gold. In the absence of Olympic champion Caterine Ibargüen, who is preparing for the IAAF Diamond League final and Continental Cup, compatriot Yosiry Urrutia contributed to Colombia’s medal tally with her 14.14m triple jump victory.
Spain was the third most successful nation with 18 medals and five victories. National record-holder Javier Cienfuegos delivered one of those victories with his 74.71m triumph in the hammer.
The event was contested by almost 300 athletes from Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries in Europe, America and Africa. It also marked the countdown to the 2019 Pan-American Games, which will take place in Peru’s capital, Lima, from 26 July to 11 August.
Eduardo Biscayart for the IAAF
