Both Greek teams are on the bubble this evening after the first day of the European Cup Super League in Munich.

Only the top 6 of 8 teams get to stay in the top level Europe team competition known as the “Super League”, with the last 2 relegated. Greece stands at number 6 tonight in both the men and women¢s competitions.

Today¢s action saw Periklis Iakovakis win his 400m hurdles only to be temporarily disqualified after a judge ruled he had crossed a hurdle illegally. A Greek appeal was immediately launched and won, with the result and 8 team points reinstated.


Iakovakis discusses DQ with official
Iakovakis, official discuss DQ

Other first place finishers were Fani Halkia in the 400m and Louis Tsatoumas in the long jump, with Piyi Devetzi finishing 2nd in the triple jump.

In the 100m sprints, both Maria Karastamati and Makis Stergioulis put in big efforts for maximum points. Karastamati hurt her ankle in the warm-up but ran anyway, finishing in 6th place with a time of 11.50 sec, well off her best times. Stergioulis got off to an incredible start and was leading at 50m, but then tired quite noticeably and lost ground to also finish in 6th place in 10.46 sec.

Sunday will see Halkia and Tassos Gousis in the 200m, events where the team is looking for solid points. Devetzi will also be looking for maximum team points when she returns for the long jump. The 4x400m relays – where Greece has solid teams - will also be contested as the final events of the competition.

And if remaining in the elite European team competition was not enough of an incentive, the Greek delegation announced that 300,000 Euro would be handed out to team members if both the men and women remain in the top-6.

The European Cup exists thanks to the vision of Italian Bruno Zauli (1902 - 1963). Every athlete, whether at the top, middle or the bottom of the field in their event, must dig deep on the day for every possible team point - as their effort could make the difference between glory for their country or relegation.