The man who never cheats, didn’t cheat this time either. Some say it was the easiest of all. Races, especially important ones, are never easy. Indeed, they are the ones that hide the most pitfalls, because they can lower the level of concentration, induce the obligatory favorite – more or less unconsciously – to consider himself already with the gold medal around his neck. This is not the case with Gianmarco Tamberi, our emperor of the platforms, the man of great occasions, the one who for a decade now has not missed (almost) a shot, like the implacable killer that he is.
in front of rolling pin
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The glorious history of Italian athletics is full of champions who have exalted us, but Gimbo – who yesterday evening at the Olimpico, in front of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, took his third European outdoor title with a flight at 2.37m equaling Adolfo Consolini, after having risked a knockout on measures that were usual for him – he belongs to that small circle of authentic competition animals: competitive phenomena who re-emerge when they find themselves on the edge of the precipice, athletes capable of exalting themselves when the stakes are very high, that is when the gold medal is at stake. Legendary names immediately come to mind: from Consolini himself to Abdon Pamich, from Pietro Mennea to Alberto Cova, and then Maurizio Damilano, Gelindo Bordin, Stefano Baldini, Sara Simeoni… Gimbo is part of this breed: exceptional hunters of victories.
tenth title
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Between the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships (indoor and outdoor), the collection of the high jumper from the Marche region competes with a goldsmith’s shop. He has already won nine gold medals in major events. And, for the tenth title, the appointment is in 59 days, when after having paraded as tricolor flag bearer, arm in arm with the foil player Arianna Errigo, he will be called to confirm the five-ringed throne, his three years ago in Tokyo shared with the Qatari Mutaz Barshim. In Paris, if he won, he would become a legend, because no one has ever managed to win two Olympic gold medals in the high jump. But Gimbo is not just this. He is the athlete who always puts on a show, the driver who lights up the audience with every jump, the champion who beats pressure and emotions, who gets excited when the fight gets tough.
battocletti
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Above all, it is the symbol of this fantastic Italy which is dominating the European Championships like never before and which yesterday, in addition to that of the Olympian, gave us another extraordinary victory for Nadia Battocletti, queen of the 10,000m after having already won the 5000, the first Italian woman capable of scoring a double in the same edition of the continental event and third overall after Mennea (100-200) in Prague ’78 and Antibo in Split ’90 over the same distances. And what can we say about Alessandro Sibilio, marvelous silver in the 400 hurdles by His Majesty Karsten Warholm, topped off with an Italian record of immense value, if we think that the Neapolitan – unfortunately held back too often by injuries – dethroned after 23 years none other than the world champion ’99 Fabrizio Mori. We are still rubbing our eyes reading the number of medals (20) and gold (10) to the right of the word Italy. But it’s not over: today it closes. And between Jacobs’ 4×100, Iapichino’s long run and Arese’s 1500, let’s prepare for the final blows.
