THE RAIN DIDN´T ALLOW THE TRACK TO BE CLOSED

The previous week, at the beginning of the Inline Speed Skating World Championships, the weather prognostics were filled with rain, but, fortunately, the sun appeared and dispelled any concern, until today, when the third final of the relay event was getting ready and the clouds could not hold back any longer.

Of the eight scheduled finals, six were completed: the four sprinting, 1,000m for junior ladies and men, and 500+D for senior ladies and men. The winning of medals followed the same line traced by the Colombian team, starting with María Fernanda Timms, who obtained the gold medal in the 500m + D event at # IbagueMundial2021. The race had the silver medalist, Geiny Pájaro, also from Colombia, leaving the bronze on the skates of the Ecuadorian, Mara Loreto Arias.

In the senior men’s category, there was a high-level sports festival, which as a result gave the local team 1-2 places for Edwin Estrada and Pedro Causil. Estrada was at the head of the group. With 100 meters to go, Causil was fourth, and in a zigzag jump, he took the last corner to move to second and leave Chilean Ricardo Verdugo in third place. One of the most exciting finals for Ibague’s public.

With the new calendar and competition system, the juniors finished the speed trials on the track, with the 1,000m, where Ana Sofía Ruiz won her first gold medal in a world championship. After taking the lead of the competition and not letting it go until crossing the finish line and celebrating, her teammate Kollin Castro took second place, and third was Fran Vanhoutte from Belgium.

Meanwhile, in junior men, the final was determined thanks to the intervention of the official video, when Colombian Steven González and Italian Andrea Cremaschi finished wheel on wheel, separated only by half a wheel. In time, it was a difference of 15 thousandths of a second. The podium was completed by Louis Colin, from France.