Short report of Balkan Walking Championships (Men & Women)
The Balkan Walking Championships were held in Izmir, hosted by the Turkish Athletics Federation. In the championship, held in the Inciraltı Urban Forest in the senior, U20 and U18 age categories, and featuring 64 athletes from 6 countries, Turkish national athletes won a total of 11 medals: 4 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze. Turkey also won 4 first-place and 1 second-place trophies as a team.
Turkey became the Balkan Champion in the overall standings with 4 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze medals (11 medals overall). Greece came in second with 3 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze medal (6 medals overall), while Ukraine finished third with 1 silver and 4 bronze medals, (5 medals overall).
In the marathon walk, Ayşe Aslan broke the senior Turkish record with a time of 3:50:10, while Esma Öztekin set a new U23 Turkish record with a time of 4:08:47. Ozan Bayram, competing outside the classification, also improved his own 35km Turkish record with a time of 2:39:02.
YouTube Video of competition
Photo album by Turkish Athletics Federation
