Another show for the Italian colors at the European Athletics Championships in Romewhere there is a new series that shines with Italian medals: Gianmarco Tamberi won the gold in the long jump, preceded by the success of Nadia Battocletti in the 10,000 women, whereas before it had been Alessandro Sibilio scored a nice silver in the 400 meters hurdles.
Apotheosis for Gimbo
Gianmarco Tamberi’s show begins with the opening measure at 2.22, followed by the attempt at 2.26, with the Italian giving the impression of being able to immediately overcome the bar which however falls, touched in the descending phase with the back of the thigh. The second jump is the good one for the rider from the Marche, provisionally third in the standings. The match continues at 2.29 with a first error, in this case a clear one, for Tamberi. The blue also makes a mistake in the second and risks elimination. With his back against the wall, as has already happened many times in his career, Tamberi finds the classy shot: 2.29 passed in the third test, with the bar shaking but not falling, and at the moment he would be silver. The others make mistakes, the race becomes a duel. Everything was decided at 2.31 and Tamberi immediately placed the jump on the first attempt to take the lead. It’s the match point, a null for Lavskyy who decides to move to 2.33. Two errors from Tamberi, as many from Lavskyy and it’s gold for the blue with the crowd in delirium. That’s enough? Of course not, with a phenomenon like Gimbo who at this point asks for 2.34 and surpasses him in the first. The Olimpico goes crazy. He is not satisfied, he tries 2.37 and this time too on the first jump: Tamberi is enormous, it is a championship record (beaten by the 2.36 of the Russian Andrey Silnov in 2006) and the best world performance of the year. The Italian champion returns to jump the same size as the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, two months before the Paris Games where he will seek confirmation. Meanwhile there is the third European outdoor title in the top, after Amsterdam 2016 and Munich 2022.
Battocletti in history
After 5000 meters, even 10,000, it is still a historic Battocletti. In the seventh kilometer the first shock: Battocletti takes the lead and the pace picks up. There remain three in front, with Keith taking over from the European 5000 meters champion, Van Es immediately in the wake and Del Buono behind the chasing tandem. On the penultimate lap comes the decisive progression of Nadia Battocletti, who sends the Olympic stadium into raptures, with a last kilometer of 2:53.54 and another Italian record with 30:51.32, fourteen seconds less than the 31:05.57 set by the late Maura Viceconte in 2000. No Italian woman had ever won two titles in the same European Championship: in the men’s field, Pietro Mennea (100 and 200 in Prague 1978) and Totò Antibo (5000 and 10,000, just like Nadia, in Split 1990) did so. Battocletti becomes the fourth woman in the continental event to win the 5000m and 10,000m in a single edition after Sonia O’Sullivan (1998), Elvan Abeylegesse (2010) and Yasemin Can (2016).
Italian record holder hiss
Glory also for Alessandro Sibilio in the 400 hurdles, finishing behind only Karsten Warholm, but ahead of an Italian legend of the specialty. It was a perfect final for the Neapolitan, starting in lane seven, immediately behind the Norwegian world record holder. The Italian does not fall into the temptation of forcing the pace at the start by following Warholm and in the final straight he even manages to overtake the Olympian by a couple of metres. Gold went to Warholm in 46.98, a championship record, and silver went to Sibilio in 47.50, four hundredths less than Fabrizio Mori’s Italian record achieved almost 23 years ago with the world championship silver in Edmonton 2001.
(photo Facebook – Rome 2024)
