Andorran Steeplechaser Nahuel Carabaña Finishes Ninth in Mediterranean Games Final

Andorran steeplechaser Nahuel Carabaña placed ninth and last in the 3,000 metres final at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy, crossing the line in 9:07.76 after two competitors failed to start.

Entering with the seventh-best qualifying mark among 11 entrants, Carabaña stayed toward the rear of the pack in a slow-paced race early on. He advanced to fifth position with four laps remaining but gradually lost ground amid an acceleration by rivals, dropping back and finishing well detached from the leaders. His time trailed his personal best of 8:12.00 by nearly a minute.

Morocco's Salah Eddine Ben Yazide won gold in 8:46.14. Teammate Mohamed Tindouft took silver in 8:46.58, with Algeria's Omar Seraiche earning bronze at 8:47.31.

The performance concludes Andorra's track and field events at the Games except for Ariadna Fenés, who closes the nation's participation today in the women's half-marathon starting at 08:30.

Earlier on Tuesday, Pol Moya finished seventh in the 1,500 metres final, missing gold by just 93 hundredths of a second after leading much of the race and holding a podium spot until roughly 50 metres out. Josep Maria Missé, president of the Andorran Athletics Federation, commended Moya's effort despite a recent flu that hampered his condition. "Pol made us thrill and dream of a medal. We saw it so close, 76 hundredths from bronze, and I'm convinced it won't be long in coming," Missé said. "He competed brilliantly, always showing fight and starring in the race against athletes with much better personal bests. This is the path."