The first European Athletics Team Championships took place on 20 and 21 June 2009. The track and field athletics tournament run by European Athletics was the successor of the old European Cup competition which was held annually until 2008. The Championships saw a number of new rules introduced, which were criticised by some athletes and observers.
New rules The European Team Championships modified and added to the rules of its predecessor competition, the European Cup. Men and women's team competed under one unified national banner for the first time.Ohuruogu to lead GB in Portugal. BBC Sport (17 July 2009). Retrieved on 24 June 2009. Furthermore, the competition was opened to all European Athletics member states and was divided into four leagues: the Super League, First League, Second League, and Third League. The top two leagues each comprised twelve competing nations, while the Second and Third Leagues had eight and fourteen teams, respectively.Team Championships Regulations. European Athletics. Retrieved on 24 June 2009.
Elimination rules were added to the 3000 metres, 3000 metres steeplechase, and 5000 metres races. In the shorter races, the athlete in last place when five, four, and three laps were remaining was eliminated. In the 5000 m the cut off points were at seven, five, and three laps remaining. The rule change caused some confusion in the women's 3000 m when Spain's Natalia Rodríguez was eliminated with three laps remaining, but carried on running and eventually won the race. She was disqualified, however, and Russia's Gulnara Galkina-Samitova was announced as the winner. Rodriguez said that she thought the elimination stage came at a later point in the race,Turnbull, Simon (21 June 2009). Chambers and GB stick to the rules with success. The Independent. Retrieved on 24 June 2009. and winner Galkina-Samitova was critical of the change, stating "This new elimination rule shouldn't exist. Everyone should race till the end".Manuel Fernandes, Antonio (20 June 2009). Narrow one point lead for Great Britain in Leiria – European Team Championships, day 1. IAAF. Retrieved on 24 June 2009. Further problems arose in the men's 5000 m, when four athletes reached the five laps remaining mark at the same time. The group slowed, unable to tell who was eliminated, and while awaiting the photo-finish the four dropped away from the other runners. Race winner Mo Farah complied with the elimination rule but stated that every athlete had a right to finish, branding the rule change as "strange".GB make strong start in Portugal. (20 June 2009). Retrieved on 24 June 2009. Sections of the press also expressed reservations about the changes.Kessel, Anna (21 June 2009). Dwain Chambers doubles up as a British hero. The Guardian. Retrieved on 24 June 2009.Mills, Steven (20 June 2009). Great Britain lead the European Team Championships. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved on 24 June 2009.
Other rule changes included a 'no false start rule' in all the track events. (Any athlete false starting would have been immediately disqualified and received no points, but this did not occur at the inaugural championships). Athletes in the high jump and pole vault events were permitted a maximum total of four fouls throughout the day's competition. Also, the jumping and throwing events featured elimination rounds: athletes had two trial attempts, then the six best-ranked athletes had a third attempt, then finally the top four athletes had a fourth attempt. The elimination rounds caused some upsets, with highly rated Russian hammer thrower, Aleksey Zagornyi failing to progress beyond the trial rounds.
Many athletes did not fully support the new regulations, and European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz accepted that the rules needed refinement. However, he was pleased with the competition's reception and stated that the rule changes would make athletics more accessible to a wider audience. Portugal's Rui Silva, who won the 1500 metres, remarked that although the regulations had unusual outcomes, a positive approach to the rules, and further refinement, would be beneficial to the sport.SPAR European Team Championships' new regulations well received says President Wirz. European Athletics (22 June 2009). Retrieved on 24 June 2009.
Calendar Division Date Host city Host countrySuper League20–21 June 2009LeiriaFirst League20–21 June 2009BergenSecond League20–21 June 2009Banská BystricaThird League20–21 June 2009Sarajevo
League positions The leagues for the 2009 competition were formed by combination of each country's men and women's performances in the European Cup 2008. As the teams were 46, the winning team received 46 points, the second 45 and so on. The leagues were formed as:
Super League First League Second League Third LeagueCountryPtsCountryPtsCountryPtsCountryPts 1548 1217 971.5 722 1518 1211 947 714 1512 1182.5 942 709.5 1472 1166 933 555.5 1455 1139 901 550.5 1426.5 1133 839.5 399.5 1423.5 1118 783 356 1412.5 1072.5 749 332.5 1359.5 1035.5 310.5 1309 1032.5 301.5 1236 1028.5 AASSE 280 1222 974 191 187 164
Super League Place: Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal
Participating countries
Men's events 100 mDwain Chambers 10.07Francis Obikwelu 10.20SBEmanuele Di Gregorio 10.21PB200 mDwain Chambers 20.55Arnaldo Abrantes 20.62SBMartial Mbandjock 20.67PB400 mTimothy Benjamin 45.57Johan Wissman 45.81SBKamghe Gaba 45.88SB800 mMiguel Quesada 1:47.76Oleksandr Osmolovych 1:48.05Jeff Lastennet 1:48.291500 mRui Silva 3:42.07Diego Ruiz 3:42.54Yoann Kowal3:42.733000 mJesús España 8:01.73SBSergey Ivanov 8:02.18SBDaniele Meucci 8:02.225000 mMo Farah 13:43.01SBCarles Castillejo 13:49.54Serhiy Lebid 13:59.85SB3000 m steeplechaseMustafa Mohamed8:28.09Vincent Zouaoui Dandrieux8:32.05SBIldar Minshin8:34.06SB110 m hurdlesAndy Turner 13.42Jackson Quiñónez 13.53SBMatthias Bühler 13.57400 m hurdlesDai Greene 49.26Fadil Bellaabouss 49.91SBPeriklis Iakovakis 50.094 × 100 mGiovanni TomasicchioSimone CollioEmanuele Di GregorioFabio Cerutti 38.77Stefan SchwabTill HelmkeAlexander KosenkowMartin Keller 38.78Ronald PognonMartial MbandjockEddy De Lépine Christophe Lemaitre 38.804 × 400 mConrad WilliamsRobert TobinRichard StrachanTimothy Benjamin 3:00.82Miguel RigauKamghe GabaSimon Kirch Thomas Schneider3:02.30Piotr KlimczakKacper KozłowskiMarcin MarciniszynJan Ciepiela 3:03.54High jumpYuriy Krymarenko 2.31SBJaroslav Bába 2.31Aleksandr Shustov 2.31Pole vaultRenaud Lavillenie 6.01NR WLMalte Mohr 5.75Łukasz Michalski 5.70Long jumpEusebio Cáceres 8.00PBNelson Évora 7.94Louis Tsatoumas 7.91Triple jumpNelson Évora 17.59Phillips Idowu 17.50Fabrizio Schembri 16.64Shot putTomasz Majewski 20.81Manuel Martínez 20.39SBAntonin Žalský 20.11SBDiscusPiotr Małachowski 66.24Robert Harting 65.40Mario Pestano 64.66HammerNicola Vizzoni 78.15Szymon Ziółkowski 78.01SBMarkus Esser 77.62JavelinMark Frank 78.63Ilya Korotkov 77.56Igor Janik 76.48
Women's events 100 mEmily Freeman 11.42Nataliya Pohrebnyak 11.49Carima Louami 11.50SB200 mYuliya Gushchina 23.01Marta Jeschke 23.34Christine Ohuruogu 23.40400 mLibania Grenot 51.16SBLyudmila Litvinova 51.23SBNataliya Pyhyda 51.86800 mYuliya Krevsun 1:58.62WLYekaterina Kostetskaya 1:59.43SBÉlodie Guégan 1:59.79SB1500 mNuria Fernández 4:08.00Elisa Cusma 4:08.72PBHannah England 4:09.253000 mGulnara Samitova-Galkina 8:46.88SBSylwia Ejdys 8:58.26PBInês Monteiro 9:00.83SB5000 mDolores Checa 15:28.87SBSilvia Weissteiner 15:31.33SBSabrina Mockenhaupt 15:37.673000 m steeplechaseAntje Möldner 9:32.65Sophie Duarte 9:33.63SBYelena Sidorchenkova 9:36.88100 m hurdlesLucie Škrobáková 12.94SBYuliya Kondakova 12.94SBOlena Krasovska 13.02400 m hurdlesAnna Jesień 54.82Anastasiya Rabchenyuk 55.05Zuzana Hejnová 55.29SB4 × 100 mYevgeniya PolyakovaNatalia RusakovaYuliya GushchinaYuliya Chermoshanskaya 43.35Laura TurnerKadi-Ann ThomasEmily Freeman Joice Maduaka 43.44Katja WakanAnne MöllingerCathleen TschirchMarion Wagner 43.574 × 400 mYelena VoinovaTatyana FirovaAnastasiya KapachinskayaLyudmila Litvinova 3:25.25Daniela ReinaMaria Enrica SpaccaMarta MilaniLibania Grenot 3:28.77Vicki BarrEilidh ChildJenny MeadowsLee McConnell 3:29.29High jumpAriane Friedrich 2.02Ruth Beitia 2.00SBAntonietta Di Martino 2.00SBPole vaultMonika Pyrek 4.70Yuliya Golubchikova 4.65SBSilke Spiegelburg 4.60SBLong jumpNaide Gomes 6.83Olga Kucherenko 6.73Teresa Dobija 6.45Triple jumpTeresa Nzola Meso Ba 14.40SBAnna Pyatykh 14.10Magdelín Martínez 14.01Shot putNadine Kleinert 19.59Chiara Rosa 18.57Laurence Manfredi 18.16SBDiscusNatalya Semenova 61.58Mélina Robert-Michon 61.41Věra Cechlová 60.50HammerAnita Włodarczyk 75.23Betty Heidler 74.97SBStiliani Papadopoulou 71.18JavelinChristina Obergföll 68.59WLBarbora Špotáková 65.89Zahra Bani 59.11
Final standings PosCountryPts1329.52308330642955284626572628256922310220.51120712142
New standing points after Russian athletes’ late disqualification.
Score table Event100 metresM2.5971241081115.52.55.5W210812488561311200 metresM210912453116817W29710486111253–400 metresM5910126141182113W378941262116110800 metresM510698743212111W8107956231141121500 metresM210981671231145W2631051087012493000 metresM52894106711123–W38–957111012–465000 metresM465121738911210W–7106–11589124–3000 metre steepleM611852371109124W111128635910724110/100 metre hurdlesM2.5910122.557181164W128924573116110400 metre hurdlesM611712104539218W107892612–543114 × 100 metres relayM–1011351289764–W3–10115786122494 × 400 metres relayM481112569210317W68910311–412527High jumpM112.52.547581106912W52.5122.56.5104191186.5Pole vaultM6.512116.5941038251W861097412311512Long jumpM963810121171245W576394101211218Triple jumpM284117103125619W412237109511618Shot putM108973212451116W610121711925384Discus throwM531167812241019W101194578213612Hammer throwM841017121125639W58117109122–634Javelin throwM741258110311629W112123895110746Event
Records CountryNameEventResultsNotesKate DennisonWomen's Pole Vault4.55NRRenaud LavillenieMen's Pole Vault6.01NREva VitalWomen's 100 m hurdles13.66 NJR
First League Place: Fana Stadion, Bergen, Norway
Participating countries
Men's events 100 mJaysuma Saidy Ndure 10.14SBKristof Beyens 10.37SBPatrick van Luijk 10.38200 mJaysuma Saidy Ndure 20.94Kristof Beyens 21.03Patrick van Luijk 21.03400 mCédric Van Branteghem 46.59Matti Välimäki 46.83PBSebastjan Jagarinec 47.20800 mTamás Kazi 1:48.99Ioan Zaizin 1:49.37Robert Lathouwers 1:49.481500 mHalil Akkaş 3:40.81SBArnoud Okken 3:41.04SBGoran Nava3:42.733000 mSelim Bayrak 8:00.45SBMirko Petrović 8:06.38SBTiidrek Nurme 8:02.225000 mSelim Bayrak 13:58.71Abdi Nageeye 14:02.43Stsiapan Rahautsou 14:03.70SB3000 m steeplechaseJukka Keskisalo8:30.89Halil Akkaş8:31.85SBBjørnar Ustad Kristensen8:35.18110 m hurdlesMaksim Lynsha 13.86Damien Broothaerts 13.95Juha Sonck 14.04400 m hurdlesJussi Heikkilä 50.49Vincent Vanryckeghem 50.50SBVincent Kerssies 51.14SB4 × 100 mGregory SedocCaimin DouglasGuus HoogmoedPatrick van Luijk 39.04Pascal ManciniMarc SchneebergerMarco CribariReto Schenkel 39.55Bostjan FridrihMatic OsovnikarJoze Vrtacic Gregor Kokalovic 39.824 × 400 mArnaud GhislainVincent van RyckeghemNils DuerinckAntoine Gillet 3:07.30Joeri MoermanSteven de JesusSteven Zwerink Dennis Spillekom3:07.57Marcell Deák-NagyLászló BarthaDávid TakácsZoltán Kovács 3:08.54High jumpDragutin Topić 2.29SBMartijn Nuijens 2.29PBStijn Stroobants 2.26PBPole vaultRobbert Jansen 5.50Jurij Rovan 5.40Denis Goossens 5.40Long jumpTommi Evilä 7.90SBJulien Fivaz 7.83SBBoštjan Fridrih 7.66Triple jumpAlin Anghel 16.51SBFabian Florant 16.41Dzmitry Platnitski 16.32Shot putYury Bialou 19.74Lajos Kürthy 19.61Miran Vodovnik 19.53DiscusGerd Kanter 67.00Zoltán Kővágó 63.44Frantz Kruger 59.97HammerKrisztián Pars 77.78Primož Kozmus 77.34Pavel Kryvitski 77.21JavelinTero Pitkämäki 86.78SBAndreas Thorkildsen 85.04Stefan Müller 79.08
Women's events