Hosts Italy enjoy success on final day of IPC Athletics Grand Prix

There was a new relay world record for the host nation Italy on Sunday (10th April), the final day of competition at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in the Tuscan city of Grosseto.

The women’s 4 x 100m T42-47 relay quartet - Monica Contrafatto, Federica Maspero, Alessia Donizetti and Giuseppina Versace - stormed home in 1:02.29 to set a vacant world record on the track at the Carlo Zecchini Olympic Stadium, the venue for June’s IPC Athletics European Championships.

Home favourite and former double world champion Oxana Corso (T35) set a new Italian record of 14.91 as she took the tape in the women’s 100m T35-37/42.

Italy also enjoyed further success as Emanuele Di Marino won the men’s 100m T44 (12.38) and Andrea Lanfri set a new Italian record in the men’s 100m T43 (13.06).

The women’s 100m T33/53/54 was won by Turkey’s Hamide Kurt (T53). The 22-year-old world silver medallist crossed the line in 17.15 to get the better of her compatriot, T54 racer Zubeyde Supurgeci (17.48), as Great Britain’s Meggan Dawson-Farrell finished third (18.31).

Russia’s Veronika Zotova (14.04) notched up her second win of the Grand Prix as she took the tape in the 100m T11-12; Germany’s T13 sprinter Janne Engeleiter (13.05) won the 100m T13/43/44/47.

In the men’s sprints, Frenchman Sebastien Mombre (T34) topped the podium in the 100m T33/34/53/54, clocking 16.36 to finish ahead of fellow T34 racer Mohammed Al-Kubaisi of Qatar (16.90), while Italy’s Ivan Messina (T53) finished third (17.35).

Great Britain’s Jayden Saberton (T37) added to his 400m victory on Saturday with first place in the men’s 100m T35-38; fellow Britons James Arnott (T46) and Dave Henson (T42) won their sprints in 11.53 and 13.65 respectively.

Russian Andrei Kuzmin got the better of his compatriot, former double world champion Aleksei Labzin, to win the 100m T13 (11.48); Turkey’s Muhammed Amac won the 100m T20 (11.94) and Lithuania’s Modestas Grauslys took the tape in the 100m T11 (13.04).

Somalia’s Farhan Hadafo (T52) secured his hat trick of victories having already triumphed in the 200m and 400m in Grosseto, stopping the clock after 100m in 20.55. Maximiliano Rodriguez made it two out of two as he took gold in the men’s 100m T12 (11.79) to add to his long jump win on Friday.

Spain’s Gustavo Nieves took the tape in the men’s 5,000m T11-13/20/46. The 34-year-old clocked 15:31.57 to finish ahead of T20 athlete Thomas des Brisay of Canada (15:51.84).

In the field results went to form in the men’s javelin F52-54 as reigning world champion Manolis Stefanoudakis (F54) managed a best of 28.64m – just over one metre shy of his world record mark – to top the podium once again.

There was no surprise either as Slovakia’s Adrian Matusik (F44) dominated the men’s discus F40-46. The European silver medallist threw a best of 52.30m to secure his second victory in Grosseto, having already won the shot put a day earlier.

Lithuania’s Andrius Skuja (F46) was second with 35.14m, and there was an Italian record for F43 thrower Moreno Marchetti, who finished third with 21.42m. Romania’s Florentina Hriscu (F44) won the women’s event with 18.71m.

Serbia’s Nebojsa Duric (F55) made it three wins out of three as he threw 26.89m to take gold in the javelin F55-56 to add to his wins in the discus and shot put.

Italy’s Carmen Acunto (F55) also notched up her third win of the Grand Prix with victory in the women’s shot put F52-57, thanks to her first round effort of 6.19m - her compatriot Elena Favaretto (F11) threw 11.27m in the women’s javelin F11-13.

Spain’s Hector Cabrera Llacer (F12) finished nearly 20 metres clear of the field in the men’s javelin F11-13, throwing 58.85m to seal the win, while Qatari Nasser Al-Sahoti took the top spot in the men’s javelin F57 with 33.01m.

The men’s club throw F31/32/51 was won by Italy’s Antonino Puglisi (F32) thanks to his opening effort of 16.45m; Great Britain’s Kylie Grimes won the women’s event with 15.80m.

Full results from Grosseto cam be found at http://www.fidalservizi.it/risultati/2016/Grosseto_IPC_2016/Index.htm

The IPC Athletics Grand Prix series heads to Beijing, China, next on April 22-24.

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