German athlete Malik Diakite and French athlete Elisa Pineau claimed victories in the decathlon and heptathlon, respectively, at the 13th Arona-Tenerife International Combined Events Meeting.
The Antonio Domínguez Stadium at Las Américas Beach dressed up to welcome athletes participating in the 13th International Combined Events Meeting in Arona-Tenerife, featuring decathlon and heptathlon competitions. This event is part of the gold category of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour and has made the southern municipality the international epicenter of combined events.
German athlete Malik Diakite scored 8,037 points in the decathlon, while French athlete Elisa Pineau scored 6,020 points in the heptathlon, leading them to victory in a competition that spanned four days from Saturday to Sunday. The Tenerife Island Council, through its public company IDECO, collaborated in the organization along with Hospiten.
The French athlete ended the first day in a discreet sixth position with 3,560 points after her performances in the 100 meters hurdles (13.94), high jump (1.72 meters), shot put (14.19 meters), and 200 meters (25.00). On Sunday, she exceeded expectations and emerged victorious. Joining her on the podium as runner-up was Irishwoman Kate O’Connor, with 6,009 points, and in third place was Swiss athlete Lydia Boll, with 5911 points.
“I’m very happy because, honestly, I didn’t expect to win this weekend,” said Pineau. “My first day was quite weak, but today went well. I was only seven points away from my personal best, so I’m satisfied.”
In the men’s category, there was an exciting clash between Dutchman Jeff Tesselaar and German Malik Diakite, with the latter scoring 8,037 points compared to Tesselaar’s 8035, thus winning the meeting. It’s worth noting that Tesselaar improved his personal best by 282 points, and British athlete Lewis Church, with 7,742 points, secured third place.
The 24-year-old winner commented, “I’m super tired because it’s been two tough days, but it’s worth it because I won and surpassed the 8,000-point barrier for the second time in my career. The next time I compete will be at the end of June in Ratingen.”
In the Under-20 decathlon category, Belgian Dai Keita with 7,397 points emerged as the winner followed by Spaniard Diego Darias with 6,902 points. In the Under-20 heptathlon, Zoe Gregory of Great Britain with 4,963 points was crowned champion and Laura Oogue, with 4,690 points, took second place, stepping onto the podium at the Antonio Domínguez Stadium in Las Américas Beach.
It was a weekend of high-level athletics in Arona, where the Sports Councilor of the municipality, Luis Sierra, and the CEO of IDECO of the Insular Council of Tenerife, Manolo Gómez, were in charge of presenting the awards to the winners.
For this edition, the organizers implemented a ‘Sustainability Plan’ that included various actions, highlighting strategic points such as sustainable mobility, providing athletes and coaches with accommodations close to the competition track accessible by walking, and encouraging the public to use public transportation. Differentiated waste collection and sustainable live broadcasting, ensuring equitable and representative coverage of athletes of all genders in the live broadcast, supplemented this sustainability campaign at the International Combined Events Meeting Arona-Tenerife.
