Spanish athletics stars deliver memorable national championships in Malaga

There were several standout moments, including two medals for athletes linked to Malaga province, as the Ciudad de Málaga stadium hosted the Spanish Athletics Championships over the weekend.

The championships, held from Friday to Sunday, brought together around 800 competitors and marked the return of Spain’s top domestic athletics competition to Malaga after a 15-year absence.

Athletes had to deal with a severe heatwave and strong winds that affected several events, but the meeting still delivered memorable performances.

One of the biggest moments came when Olympic champion María Pérez won the women’s 10,000 metres race walk in a Spanish record time of 42:12.93. The performance was the fourth national record achieved at the Ciudad de Málaga stadium and moved Pérez to the top of the world rankings for the year.

Other highlights included María Vicente’s heptathlon victory with 6,174 points, while Blanca Hervás claimed gold in the women’s 400 metres after the closest final in the history of the national championships. Hervás finished in 52.31 seconds, just ahead of Paula Sevilla, who took silver by one hundredth of a second.

The competition also provided success for local athletes. Malaga’s Naomey Ezenwa, representing Trops Cueva de Nerja, won silver in the discus with a throw of 54.84 metres. This took the 23-year-old's national medal tally to six.

Nerja’s Isidro Leyva, meanwhile, finished ninth in the pole vault after withdrawing from the delayed final due to physical problems, while fellow Club Nerja athletes Una Stancev and Antonio Santana secured silver medals in the high jump and shot put, respectively.

The final evening saw a packed stadium celebrate further dramatic finishes. Adrián Ben won the men’s 1,500 metres after a thrilling sprint finish, while David Barroso claimed his first national title in the 800 metres following another close battle.

The championships concluded with the 4x400 metres relay, where Laura Aguilera from Cartaojal helped Club Nerja secure the women’s silver medal in 3:36.04 alongside Herminia Parra, Rocío Navarro and Andrea de la Rosa.