The outstanding form of Ioulianna Roussou earned her another national record, this time in the women’s U20 1,500 m.
The young runner covered the distance in 4:16.31, improving on the previous mark of 4:21.94 set by Anastasia Marinakou on 14 February 2015.
At the same time, the rising athlete coached by Dimitris Platis became the fourth fastest woman of all time in the event.
Roussou chose to stay behind Anthí Kyriakopoulou and Georgia Despollari, who entered the race as a pacemaker and stepped off the track 400 metres before the finish.
Kyriakopoulou remained in the lead until the bell lap, at which point Roussou launched a powerful sprint to overtake her.
Last week, Roussou also set a national record in the 3,000 metres, and attention now turns to her appearance in the 800 m at the Stoiximan Panhellenic Indoor Championships.
Kyriakopoulou followed in 4:20.90, while third place went to Raz Sharon with 4:41.48.
“I’m very happy with this performance. My coach kept telling me I was capable of running times like this, and it finally happened.
At the bell I realised there was one lap left, not two, so I pushed hard at the finish. I’ll now run the 1,500 m at the Balkan Championships and then look ahead to the 800 m at the National Championships,” Roussou said.
In the men’s 400 metres, Giannis Simoni claimed first place with a dramatic dive at the finish line, clocking 47.72 and setting a new personal best.
The athlete coached by Kostas Kotsidis, despite a slow first 200 m, managed a strong comeback to edge out Petros Kechiopoulos, who finished second in 47.74, also a personal best.
A notable performance was delivered by Panagiotis Bertolis with 48.11. Competing in the U20 category, he is closing in on his first sub-48-second race.
Kyriakos Tsikilis also surpassed himself, finishing third in 48.27, showing he too is close to breaking the 48-second barrier.
Anastasia Rapti achieved a personal milestone, improving her indoor personal best to 55.13 and finishing second behind Cyprus’ Kalliopi Kountouri (54.77).
Another personal best came from Giorgos Matzaridis, who won the men’s 1,500 m in 3:48.06, ahead of Orfeas Ioannou (3:50.27) and Sergios Diakostefanis (3:51.44).
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