Medal day at the European Championships in Rome was supposed to be super-Saturday with the king Fabbri-Furlani-Simonelli-Jacobs poker to throw on the table within three hours. Instead, a magical Friday came out with a winning double pair: two golds (Palmisano and Battocletti) and two silvers (Trapletti and the 4×400 mixed relay). It’s difficult to expect anything better…
The audience, unfortunately, was not too large, but what was there – in addition to enjoying a great show – supported the Azzurri as expected. “I heard everyone shouting my name and on the last lap I thought I had to do it for them too”, said Nadia Battocletti after the ride that led her to win the 5000 meters with the new Italian record of 14’35”29.
European Championships in Rome: Nadia Battocletti, the queen of middle distance running
Nadia had a head-to-head race with Norwegian Karoline Grovdal, taking the medal in the final. “I thought I could make it with two laps to go, when I saw the others break away. I knew that if I arrived fully loaded I could have had my say: I would have started even earlier, but I trusted dad’s experience, who had told me told to wait…”.
Nadia Battocletti’s gold in the 5000 meters was fantastic
And so the daughter of Giuliano Battocletti, former Italian player and now coach of the new European champion, went to get a gold with a time that places her at the thirteenth place on the world list of the yearbut with eight Ethiopians in front. At the Paris Games there will only be three, and she too will be able to have her say. Behind the winner, in a race that saw a shower of personal bests, another daughter of art also improved: Federica Del Buono, who arrived just 5 cents away from the 15 minute mark. However, her 15’00″05 places her in fourth place in the Italian list of all time, preceded – in addition to Nadia – only by two sacred monsters such as Maria Guida and Roberta Brunet.
European Championships in Rome, the double in the march
The 5000m gold arrived a few minutes after 11pm, three hours after Italian double in the women’s 20 km race walk. And if from Antonella Palmisanoreigning Olympic champion, one could expect a victory, the silver of Valentina Trapletti, it’s almost an unexpected gift. “At almost 39 years old she has become aware of her abilities”, said director Antonio La Torre after the success of the Trapletti-Fortunato couple at the world relay championships, where an unfortunate injury took the other Olympic champion Massimo Stano out of the picture. “It is to him that I dedicate my medal – said Palmisano – I know how difficult it is to be forced to watch the races from home…”.
Antonella Palmisano dyes herself gold
The enthusiasm of Valentina Trapletti was uncontainable, and with her time of 1.28’37” – 29 seconds more than Palmisano – she improved by over a minute. “The medal is a dream I have had for years – tells -. Every year something happened, but I always continued to believe in it. And now that it’s finally happened, I can hardly believe it.”
European Championships in Rome, what a fantastic surprise the 4×400
Between the two blue-tinted races, another not too awaited medal, the silver one for the 4×400 relay mixed with Luca Sito, Anna Polinari, Edoardo Scotti and Alice Mangionewho with 3’10”69 improved the Italian record by almost three seconds and guaranteed their Olympic participation.
The Azzurri’s match was launched by an excellent 44″75 from Sito and defended with teeth by Mangione, who was able to contain the return of the Dutch phenomenon Femke Bol in the last fraction.
Party for the Italian mixed 4×400
European Championships in Rome, first-time qualification for Fabbri, Furlani, Dercach and the 3 nineteenth-century players
The day of the Azzurri, opened at 9.50 in the morning by the 100 hurdles of the heptathlon with the personal best of Sveva Gerevini (13”35), would continue with more light than shadow. Gerevini, who would have also improved her personal best in the high jump (1.80), is fifth in the rankings, orphaned by Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who withdrew before the final 200 meters of the first day.
Qualification without problemson the first try, for Leonardo Fabbri in weight (21.10), Mattia Furlani in the long (8,17) e Dariya Dercach in the triple (14,10). Go ahead too Tecuceanu, Pernici and Barontini in the very fast heats of the 800m. The sprinters Rigali and Mattuzzo, expected in the semi-final by Marcell Jacobs, and the hurdlers Besana and Carmassi were decent.
Out of the final by just one place the hurdlers Elena Carraro and Nicolò Giacalone, the long runner Filippo Randazzo, the discus throwers Alessio Mannucci and Daisy Osakue, with a bit of regret for the latter. In the final, however, Zane Weir weighed in, with a 19.71 which says little only in appearance, given the very recent ankle fracture of the Italian of South African origin. “Only ten days ago I was still on crutches – says the European indoor champion –. I wanted to be there to experience the emotion of Rome and the Olympic stadium.”
