One of the most beautiful Italian recordsfascinating, dear and iconic of athletics it collapsed in the night in Rome. Fabrizio Mori, you were legendary with 47.54 with which you won the silver medal at the 2001 World Championships. Alessandro Sibilio, welcome among the greats of dancing between barriers. The Neapolitan beat the national record in the 400 hurdles which the Livornese signed 23 years ago in Edmonton, when he climbed onto the world podium again after his apotheosis two years earlier in Seville.
The 25-year-old claimed a silver medal at the European Championships, running a sensational 47.50 on the track of the Olympic Stadium in Rome: on only one occasion has improved his old figure by 43 cents, dating back three years ago on the occasion of the semi-final of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (that 47.93 served him to access the final act of the Games). Today’s time trial projects Gianpaolo Ciappa’s student into a new dimension, making it clear that in less than two months we will be able to fight for a luxury finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Alessandro Sibilio leaves behind the many injuries of the last two years and forgets the multiple stumbles that prevented him from finally exploding even before today. Tonight he finally received what a talent of his caliber deserves without a shadow of a doubt. With wide margins for improvement and boundless potential, to dream even bigger in the near future.
The Italian had a good reaction time (0.174) and started in a careful manner, then intensified the action halfway through the race, took the last corner well and on the straight he even recovered a couple of tenths from his majesty Karsten Warholm. The Norwegian championworld record holder with 45.94, Olympic Champion in Tokyo 2020 and three-time World Champion, respected the prediction of the day before and triumphed with a time of 46.98 (championship record), getting their hands on the third consecutive continental title. Bronze goes to the Swede Carl Bengtstroem (47.94, national record).
