L’European record of Italy’s athletics event ends with the grand final and the last hopes of further expanding the Azzurri’s medal collection. Wednesday evening will feature the exploits of Larissa Iapichino in the long run but above all of the Italian relays, with particular attention to the 4×100 of Marcell Jacobs And Tortu.
Silver 4×400, girls fourth
The last evening of the European Athletics Championships begins with the great show of pole vault men’s and the wait for the Swedish champion Duplantis. The B final of the men’s 10,000m sees the Italians protagonists but unable to challenge the Spaniard Ramos for victory; fifths and sixths Guerra and Ouhda, under the eyes of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, present for the second consecutive evening at the Olimpico. The pole vault competition has not yet come into full swing but everyone’s attention is focused on the long jump platform, where one of the most awaited athletes takes to the field, Larissa Iapichino. The women’s 4×400 thrilled the Roman spectators with a great performance: Accame, Trevisan, Polinari and Mangione did well in the first stages but were unable to keep up with the pace of the Dutch favourites.
When Femke Bol takes the baton there’s really none for anyone: Alice Mangione does one great comeback but he fails to take the bronze from Belgium. The relay sets the Italian record with 3:23.40 but the wooden medal burns a lot. The 4×400 boys had a great race, fighting until the end wool thread. Sito, Aceti, Meli and Scotti have to do without Sibilio, initially announced but they fight great. Scotti’s last lap is heart-pounding with the last German competitor who seems to travel to double speed in the final straight. In the end, however, the Italian manages to dive across the finish line, snatching silver behind the very strong Belgium for just one thousandth of a second.
Iapichino, historical silver
One of the most eagerly awaited races by the public, the women’s long run, kicks off just before 9pm with a immediate acute by Larissa Iapichino, a 6.82 which earned her provisional first place. The favorite of the evening, the German Mihambo, does only 6.70 on the first jump while the Portuguese De Sousa is hot with a 6.87 which makes the Italian climb to second place. The first series therefore sees the Italian athlete ahead of the Olympic champion in charge: Larissa manages to improve by two centimeters on the second jump but when the German athlete returns to the platform she makes it clear that taking the gold will be almost impossible: a 7.22 which seems to be worth the medal of the most precious metal. The Florentine makes a decent leap to the third round, but goes a few centimeters long at bat: the disappointment grows even more when the French Kpatcha does better than the Italian by just one centimeter. If Mihambo makes a zero jump, the Swiss Kalin rises to just two centimetres from Larissa: to bring home a medal you will need to find the right jump.
In the meantime, the finals follow one another in which there are no Italian athletes competing: if the British dominates in the women’s 800m Hodgkinson, in the javelin, the Czech Vadleich scores an important throw, 88.65, which earns him the gold ahead of the German Weber. When it comes to the end of the third rotation, Iapichino comes overtaken by Assani, which puts a good 6.91. On the first of the three jumps in the final, Larissa improved by another two centimeters, not enough to take back the bronze medal. The fifth jump sees the Florentine athlete jump 6.90, just one centimeter from the medal, a result which he greets with a very eloquent sign. Iapichino goes for broke in the last round of jumps, which starts with four athletes within just one centimetre. Her last jump is greeted by the roar of the Olimpico: 6.94, for now it would be silver medal. Assani fails to improve: when the Portuguese De Sousa doesn’t make it, Larissa’s happiness explodes, as she doubles her mother Fiona May’s silver.
Apotheosis 4×100, Arese bronze
The last acute of these memorable Europeans could come from the 4×100 relay but first there are still several finals to experience: in the 1,500 meters, there are three Italians at stake but everything will be decided in the final, with Pietro Arese who has the less than ideal task of battling the highly favored Ingebritsen. The Norwegian takes flight at the end but the Italian’s finish is still excellent: the Belgian Vermeulen makes a final straight that brings applause but arrives finally a bronze for the Piedmontese middle-distance runner, also celebrated by his teammates. Medal number 23 for Italy: no host nation has done better to Europeans. The highlight of the evening comes with the fast relays: the girls start and it is practically a duel between Great Britain and France, with the British women winning over the Transalpine ones, while the Netherlands steals the bronze to Switzerland.
The pole vault competition travels on astronomical levels, given that there were five athletes who jumped 5.87, certainly not a trivial measure. Everything is almost ready for the 4×100, with Marcell Jacobs as protagonist in the second fraction and the silver of the 200 in the last fraction Philip Tortu. Italy is the favorite but the relays are still a ternal to the lot, since a little nothing is enough to ruin everything. The performance of the blue quartet is practically perfect, with four stages and substitutions perfect: when Tortu launches onto the straight the race is already decided.
Gold medal more than deserved with an advantage over the Netherlands of more than six tenths, an eternity really. The 37.85 of the Azzurri is the best result of the season, a very clear message sent towards Paris 2024.
