Six athletes and a coach from Algeciras helped the Andalusian team finish fourth at the Spanish U-18 athletics championship by autonomous communities, held in Logroño.
The Andalusian under-18 athletics team secured fourth place in the Spanish championship of autonomous federations, a result boosted by the performances of six athletes and a coach from Algeciras. The competition took place at the Centro de Tecnificación Deportiva Javier Adárraga in Logroño (La Rioja) this Sunday.
Andalucía accumulated 239 points, finishing behind champions Catalonia (270), Castilla y León (251) and Madrid (246). The Algecireños contributed significantly to the final tally, with standout individual and relay results.
Mario Herrera, a member of the Trop Cueva de Nerja club and a pupil of coach Saúl Sáez, finished second in the 400 metres flat with a time of 48.50 seconds, a mark that qualifies him for the European U-18 championships. Another Sáez protégé, Fabián Serrano, placed fourth in the 400 metres hurdles with 53.86 seconds, achieving the national minimum standard.
In the mixed 4x400 metres relay, a team comprising Algecireños Mario Herrera, Paula Cote (Cueva de Nerja), Elena Ruiz (Bahía de Algeciras) and Darío Segovia from Granada won the event with a time of 3:31.67. Leire Jiménez, the reigning Spanish U-16 champion and a member of Bahía de Algeciras, earned bronze in the 100 metres hurdles with 14.14 seconds, a remarkable performance after returning from an injury layoff.
Noah Manuel Jiménez, an athlete from Rota who competes for Bahía de Algeciras, ran the first leg of the mixed 4x100 metres relay, which finished second. His teammates were Leire García, Aaron Moriano and Lucía Vaca.
The championship featured an exceptionally high level of competition, with seven championship records broken. Among the record-setters were Tristán Luño (Aragón) in the 400 metres hurdles (50.74), Rebeca Torres (Andalucía) in the triple jump (12.80), Iker Piñeira (País Vasco) in the 100 metres (10.66) and Bruno Castro (Galicia) in the long jump (7.15). Paula Elvira, Jana Queralt and Guillem Cuartero also set new marks.
The Andalusian team’s fourth-place finish reflects the depth of talent in the region, particularly from the Campo de Gibraltar area. Coach Saúl Sáez, who doubled as a member of the regional coaching staff, played a key role in preparing several of the medallists.
Full results are available on the official Real Federación Española de Atletismo website.
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