TicketsCINCINNATI - Three individuals with ties to the University of Cincinnati track & field program have or will soon see action representing their native countries, including Loretta Blaut, who will once again represent Team USA. In early August, Blaut will take part in the 2018 NACAC Senior Area Championships in Toronto while Adrian Valles will pole vault at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin. Damien Berthenet, who will be joining the program this fall, recently competed for France, helping his team to a championship victory.
// BLAUT JOINS TEAM USA
Blaut recently got the call from USA Track & Field and will once again don the red, white and blue for her country as she will take part in the 2018 NACAC Senior Area Championships in August. Blaut will take part in the high jump at the meet in Toronto with the final set to take place on Friday, August 10, at 8 p.m.
The NACAC (North America, Central America and Caribbean) meet will be contested over three days (August 10-12) inside Varsity Stadium in Toronto and will feature competitors from 31 nations in the grouping. The competition will mark the second time Blaut has represented Team USA at a NACAC event after she placed second in the high jump at the U23 competition in San Salvador.
// VALLES REPEATS
Valles found his way to the top of the podium once again as he captured his sixth career Spanish national title and his second in a row at the senior level with a best of 5.45m. Valles was locked in a battle with eventual runner-up Didac Salas as Salas settled for silver with a best of 5.40m on the day with Valles taking a run at 5.55m three times, but missing all of those attempts. With the win, Valles successfully defended his senior-level gold from last year and kept his national title streak in tact. Prior to his two senior wins (2017 and 2018), Valles captured crowns at the 2015 and 2016 U23 championships. He proceed that with wins in the U20 division at both the 2013 and 2014 Spanish national competitions.
Following the national meet in Getafe, both Valles and Salas were named to the Spanish National Team that will compete in the 2018 European Championships as they both have cleared 5.61m this year, the best mark of all Spaniards in 2018. The meet, which will be held in Berlin, will see both men take part in the qualification round on Friday, August 10, with those that advance to the final jumping again on Sunday, August 12. This year's meet will mark the fifth time Valles has jumped for Spain at the European meet and his second at the senior level after finishing 11th in 2016. He also jumped twice in the U23 meets, placing third in both 2015 and 2017, after jumping in the U20 meet in 2013.
2018 Spanish National Championships (July 21-22)
1. Pole Vault • 5.45m (17-10.50) • National Champion
// MITXELENA PLACES HIGH
Staying in Spain, Irati Mitxelena was back on the runway in a Spanish national competition as she took part in both the long jump and triple jump at the national meet in Getafe. First, she placed seventh in the triple jump, finishing with a best of 12.86m that came on her final attempt. After that, she took part in the long jump and finished sixth nationally by posting a leap of 6.03m. That jump marked only the second meet of her career that she surpassed the six-meter barrier with her first coming earlier in July when she jumped 6.26m to win the Spanish U23 national crown.
2018 Spanish National Championships (July 21-22)
6. Long Jump • 6.03m (19-09.50)
7. Triple Jump • 12.86m (42-02.25)
// BERTHENET HELPS FRANCE TO VICTORY
Over the weekend in Aubagne, France, six nations came together and contested a combined events competition featuring U20 and U23 athletes taking part in the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon. In the men's U23 competition, Berthenet placed third overall to help France to the overall victory. The incoming Bearcats junior scored 7,205 points to take bronze while his teammate Axel Hubert scored 7,638 points for the win. Combined, the duo accumulated 14,843 points to win the overall title as runner-up Switzerland was 222 points off the pace with 14,621 points and third-place Italy trailing by 891 points with a score of 13,952 points. The overall competition saw the Top 2 finishers for each team combine their scores with the highest total giving that nation the overall victory.
2018 U23 Combined Events Match (FRA-CZE-ESP-ITA-SUI-UKR)
3. Decathlon (July 28-29) • 7,205 points
11.62 • 6.87m • 12.86m • 2.00m • 52.67 • 14.97 • 38.81m • 4.40m • 55.98m • 4:47.51
// BLAUT JOINS TEAM USA
Blaut recently got the call from USA Track & Field and will once again don the red, white and blue for her country as she will take part in the 2018 NACAC Senior Area Championships in August. Blaut will take part in the high jump at the meet in Toronto with the final set to take place on Friday, August 10, at 8 p.m.
The NACAC (North America, Central America and Caribbean) meet will be contested over three days (August 10-12) inside Varsity Stadium in Toronto and will feature competitors from 31 nations in the grouping. The competition will mark the second time Blaut has represented Team USA at a NACAC event after she placed second in the high jump at the U23 competition in San Salvador.
// VALLES REPEATS
Valles found his way to the top of the podium once again as he captured his sixth career Spanish national title and his second in a row at the senior level with a best of 5.45m. Valles was locked in a battle with eventual runner-up Didac Salas as Salas settled for silver with a best of 5.40m on the day with Valles taking a run at 5.55m three times, but missing all of those attempts. With the win, Valles successfully defended his senior-level gold from last year and kept his national title streak in tact. Prior to his two senior wins (2017 and 2018), Valles captured crowns at the 2015 and 2016 U23 championships. He proceed that with wins in the U20 division at both the 2013 and 2014 Spanish national competitions.
Following the national meet in Getafe, both Valles and Salas were named to the Spanish National Team that will compete in the 2018 European Championships as they both have cleared 5.61m this year, the best mark of all Spaniards in 2018. The meet, which will be held in Berlin, will see both men take part in the qualification round on Friday, August 10, with those that advance to the final jumping again on Sunday, August 12. This year's meet will mark the fifth time Valles has jumped for Spain at the European meet and his second at the senior level after finishing 11th in 2016. He also jumped twice in the U23 meets, placing third in both 2015 and 2017, after jumping in the U20 meet in 2013.
2018 Spanish National Championships (July 21-22)
1. Pole Vault • 5.45m (17-10.50) • National Champion
// MITXELENA PLACES HIGH
Staying in Spain, Irati Mitxelena was back on the runway in a Spanish national competition as she took part in both the long jump and triple jump at the national meet in Getafe. First, she placed seventh in the triple jump, finishing with a best of 12.86m that came on her final attempt. After that, she took part in the long jump and finished sixth nationally by posting a leap of 6.03m. That jump marked only the second meet of her career that she surpassed the six-meter barrier with her first coming earlier in July when she jumped 6.26m to win the Spanish U23 national crown.
2018 Spanish National Championships (July 21-22)
6. Long Jump • 6.03m (19-09.50)
7. Triple Jump • 12.86m (42-02.25)
// BERTHENET HELPS FRANCE TO VICTORY
Over the weekend in Aubagne, France, six nations came together and contested a combined events competition featuring U20 and U23 athletes taking part in the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon. In the men's U23 competition, Berthenet placed third overall to help France to the overall victory. The incoming Bearcats junior scored 7,205 points to take bronze while his teammate Axel Hubert scored 7,638 points for the win. Combined, the duo accumulated 14,843 points to win the overall title as runner-up Switzerland was 222 points off the pace with 14,621 points and third-place Italy trailing by 891 points with a score of 13,952 points. The overall competition saw the Top 2 finishers for each team combine their scores with the highest total giving that nation the overall victory.
2018 U23 Combined Events Match (FRA-CZE-ESP-ITA-SUI-UKR)
3. Decathlon (July 28-29) • 7,205 points
11.62 • 6.87m • 12.86m • 2.00m • 52.67 • 14.97 • 38.81m • 4.40m • 55.98m • 4:47.51