Italy won a splendid silver medal with the men’s 4×400 at the European Championships 2024 in athletics, managing to climb to the second step of the podium with the always prestigious mile relay. The Azzurri closed the match with the time of 3:00.81despite thelast minute absence of Alessandro Sibilio: the fresh continental silver medalist and national record holder in the 400 hurdles had been selected to run the last leg and would have provided a fundamental contribution to the quartet.
Neapolitan out, in Riccardo Meli but to run the third lap, thus moving Edoardo Scotti to close. Luca Sito is the protagonist of an exceptional start (45.13), after having signed the Italian record (44.75) in the semi-final of the individual race and having demonstrated that he is truly predestined. The Milanese passes the baton to Vladimir Vinegarswhich is overcome in the second fraction, really giving his soul to keep the Azzurri in the lead (lap of substance in 45.35).
Riccardo Meli tries to keep up the pace and succeeds until the beginning of the final straight, where he feels fatigue but does not go into total crisis and finishes in 45.87 allowing our national team to start the last four hundred in second place behind Belgium. Edoardo Scotti believes in it to the end and tries to catch up on the Belgian Alexander Doom (Indoor World Champion and fresh European Champion), he suffers on the forehand but grits his teeth, finishes in an astonishing 44.46 and thwarts Germany’s comeback attempt.
Belgium of Jonathan Sacoor, Robin Vanderbemden, Dylan Borlée and Alexander Doom won in 2:59.84, bronze for Germany of Manuel Sanders, Jean Paul Bredau, Marc Koch, Emil Agyekum (3:00.82). This is Italy’s twenty-first medal in these European Championships, the eighth silver compared to ten gold and three bronze. Second silver of the continental event for Sito and Scotti, who had already been second in the 4×400 mixed together with Alice Mangione and Anna Polinari.
