TWO DAYS OF RELAYS
The night was already crowning in Ibague, and the finals of the relay trial were on their way. The one that brings out speed, resistance, strength, location sense, and intelligence to sort out the traffic on the mainline when it comes to delivering testimony, a maneuver that must have the precision of a watchmaker and the strength of a tractor.
Mariana Chaparro, María Camila Vargas, and Kollin Castro gifted Colombia a new gold medal after dominating the finals and overcoming the tough Italian team with Sofía Saronni, Ilaria Carrer and Camila Beggiatto, and the bronze was for the renewed French team with skaters Sterenn Delugeard, Mathilde Champagnac and Julia Nizan.
The male team kept up with the girl’s attitude, a Colombian triplet with an important job. Salomón Carballo, Juan Jacobo Mantilla, and Elimelec Ospino won the 20th medal for their delegation, defeating the French team of Keven Fourneret, Mathis Rocher, and Florian Marchar. The Italian team of Manuel Ghiotto, Andra Cremaschi, and Riccardo Ceola finished third.
So far, the schedule went by regularly, even when the rain started. Two attempts were made to restart, but the humidity remained, so the organization and the World Skate technical committee decided to postpone the two missing trials, relays for men and women, until the following morning, on the rest day, both in the senior category.
In Tuesday’s early hours, the weather improved remarkably, and although some cloudiness surrounded the capital of Tolima, it only served as an ornament to shade a beautiful morning in the “musical city of America.” The temperature gradually rose to 23o C, allowing the emotions of the missing relay trial to flow freely.
In the senior ladies, a pleasant surprise from Chinese Taipei, who knew how to handle the trial and face the power of the Colombian team, won a well-deserved and well-achieved gold medal on the finish line. Taipei was represented by Yang Ho-Chen, Li Meng-Chu and Liu Yi-Hsuan, while Colombia had María Fernanda Timms Ariza, Fabriana Arias and Gabriela Rueda. The bronze went to France, who lined up with Marie Dupuy Mathilde Pédronno and Marine Lefeuvre.
The last test on the track represented the 21st gold for Colombia, which presented an experienced team made up of Pedro Causil, Andrés Jiménez, and Óscar Cobo, who fought intensely against two extraordinary teams, France and Italy, who at times had the head of the race and, only until the end, saw the local squad as the winner.
In the race, France had Elton De Souza, Martin Ferrie and Gwendal Le Pivert, while Italy sent Giuseppe Bramante, Daniele Di Stefano and Marsili Duccio.
Colombia dominated the track from the beginning until the end, Ibague answered the call for the World Championships with a wonderful public that has enjoyed the races and a track that has dropped six sets, two of them already homologated for the World Skate and the rest still in review. The trials will resume on Wednesday, but this time on the circuit.
