Belgium, Norway, and Slovenia Lead Promotion Race After Day 1 in Maribor

Belgium, Norway, and hosts Slovenia made strong statements in their quest for promotion from the 2nd Division of the European Athletics Team Championships, as the sun shone brightly on the opening day of competition in Maribor on Saturday (28).

The Belgians, bolstered by a thrilling victory from European 400m champion Alexander Doom, claimed six event wins—two more than Norway’s four. They top the overnight standings with 241 points, holding a 15-point lead over Norway and a 27.5-point advantage over Slovenia.

The home crowd had plenty to cheer for, especially after three-time European indoor silver medalist Tina Sutej soared to victory in the pole vault. Her performance helped Slovenia create a 17.5-point cushion over fourth-placed Denmark.

Hudson’s World-Leading Javelin Throw

The standout performance of the day came in the women’s javelin, where Austria’s Victoria Hudson unleashed a world-leading throw of 67.76m, smashing her own national record (previously 66.06m) and moving to ninth on the European all-time list.

Dramatic Finish in the Men’s 400m

Alexander Doom delivered a nail-biting finish in the men’s 400m, dipping across the line in 44.66 seconds—just 0.04 seconds ahead of Slovenia’s Rok Ferlan, who set a new national record. Romania’s Mihai Sorin Dringo and Ireland’s Jack Raftery followed, with Dringo also breaking his own Romanian record set just a week earlier.

Belgium’s strong day continued with Naomi Van den Broeck’s impressive late surge in the 400m hurdles and European U23 200m champion Delphine Nkansa’s dominant 100m win in 11.42 seconds. Elien Vekemans added another highlight for Belgium, clearing 4.65m in the pole vault—the highest ever by a Belgian woman—just five centimeters shy of Sutej’s winning mark.

Norwegian Field Event Success

Norway shone in the field events, with Thomas Mardal overcoming early fouls to win the hammer throw with a best of 76.85m. Marcus Thomsen followed up with a commanding shot put victory, reaching 21.02m in the second round.

One of the day’s most impressive national records came from Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalova in the women’s 400m. She shattered her own record, clocking 50.76 seconds—an improvement from her previous best of 51.91, set just days earlier.

Elkasevic Dominates the Discus

In the discus, Croatia’s seven-time European champion Sandra Elkasevic outclassed the field, winning by nearly four meters with a throw of 62.87m.

With Belgium and Norway in strong positions at the top, Slovenia will be looking to world and European discus champion Kristjan Ceh to help boost their promotion hopes—and avoid a repeat of last edition, when they narrowly missed out by just half a point.

(Raul Stiens with European Athletics - ©Chiara Montesano for European Athletics)