European Championships in Poznan will definitely go down in history as one of the most exciting. Nobody could be sure who was going to win the first place and the fans were supporting loudly the triathletes along the entire route. The European Champions were finalny Denis Sketako from Slovenia and Ewa Bugdol from Poland.
Over 600 triathletes were fighting for the title of the ETU European Champion on long distance in Poznan. Triathletes started the race with swimming in the Malta Lake, then they rode 180 kilometres on bike and finished with a marathon run in the heart of the capital of Wielkopolska.
Eastern European triathletes dominated since very beginning. Georgii Kaurov from Russia was the first in T1 zone, behind him his compatriot Andrey Lyatskiy. The third was Mikolaj Luft from Poland, who was a leader after 100 km. Two triathletes from Slovenia – Jaroslav Kovacic and Denis Sketako – decided then to follow the Polish competitor. Kovacic took the lead 3 km before the end of the cycling route. Huge emotions accompanied also the woman rivalry. Three triathletes took the lead, one of them Ewa Bugdol from Poland.
The result of the running stage remained uncertain for a very long time. Unfortunately for the Polish fans, Mikolaj Luft resigned from the race on 12 km due to health reasons. Denis Sketako from Slovenia and Sergio Marques from Portugal became the new favourites of the race. Marques was behind Sketako with over 2-minutes lost but slightly managed to catch up with him before the finish line. Finally Denis Sketako was the Winner and became the new European Champion, Sergio Marques was the second. Dirk Wijnalda from Holland won the third place.
– The route was really demanding, I had a few problems with my legs on 21 km. However, a calmer pace during running allowed me to win. The rivals were in great form, the Portuguese was chasing on me until the very end. It is my greatest success, so I will remember this day for a long time. I couldn’t imagine more amazing day – said Denis Sketako.
Among women Ewa Bugdol from Poland was in a leading group. The triple winner in ITU World Championships on long distance took the lead after 10 km with over 5-minutes advantage over Anne Jensen from Denmark. Simona Krivankova from Czech Republic was trying to catch up with the leader, but finally it was Ewa Bugdol who won the first place. Krivankova won the secondo place and Jensen was third.
– It is undisputably my biggest success in my career! – said Ewa Bugdol right after crossing the finish line. – I’m so happy that I won the European Championships in my country. I’m glad that I achieved the main plan for this season. Now I have another dream. I want to take part in the World Championships in Hawaii – she added.
MEN:
DENIS SKETAKO SVN 00:43:02//05:06:35//07:56:55
SERGIO MARQUES PRT 00:43:03//05:06:51//07:57:11
DIRK WIJNALDA NLD 00:42:58//05:07:26//07:58:54
ANDERS CHRISTENSEN DNK 00:43:01//05:05:13//08:03:23
ANTON BLOKHIN BLR 00:39:50//05:05:09//08:06:45
WOMEN:
EWA BUGDOL POL 00:43:43//05:43:17//09:02:08
SIMONA KRIVANKOVA CZE 00:50:01//05:59:42//09:06:54
ANNE JENSEN DNK 00:49:42//05:42:05//09:10:40
HANNA MAKSIMAVA BLR 00:45:39//06:00:24//09:27:42
ALENA STEVENS SVK 00:49:35//05:59:44//09:30:09