Not just relays: to Italian Absolute Track Championships of La Spezia, in the 38 individual specialties, athletes and Lombard clubs collect four golds, nine silvers and 11 bronzes, bringing to 32 the total number of podiums in an edition number 114 of the men’s tricolor and number 95 of the women’s tricolor that confirms the good health of the Lombard movement awaiting an Italian Allievi/e track championship, scheduled in Molfetta (Bari) from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 July, which will highlight a truly important series of Lombard talents.
MARCIA – Valentina Trapletti makes 13: the Milanese of CS Esercito, in the 10 km along via Chiodo, wins the 13th Italian Absolute title of her career, the fourth (third consecutive) over the distance, updating the PB on the road to 43:54, for the first time under 44 minutes. Like a year ago, it is a Lombard hat-trick: the Bergamo athlete Nicole Colombini (CS Carabinieri), the only one to stay in Trapletti’s wake at the start of the race, took silver in 45:05, Federica Curiazzi (Atl. Bergamo 1959 Oriocenter) bends the resistance of Giada Traina (Atl. Livorno) and wins the bronze in 46:08.
SPEED – Double title from Bassa Lombardia in the men’s sprint. The Lodigiano Edward Scott (CS Carabinieri) wins the 400m in 45.28, remaining just 7/100 from the PB: it is the fourth Italian success outdoors, achieved in front of the Brianza native Vladimir Vinegar (Fiamme Gialle), also seasonal silver with 45.77. The Casalasco Fausto Desalu (Fiamme Gialle), 4×100 Olympic champion, returns to a significant time: 20.30 (+1.8) to win the fourth career title in the 200 meters and climb onto the podium together with the Italian record holder in the 400m Luca Site (CUS Pro Patria Milano), who updated his PB twice, bringing it to 20.79 (-0.1) in the heats and then to 20.72 in the final for a bronze immediately ahead of the Brescian Andrea Federici (Atl. Biotekna, 20.87). About 100 meters Eric Marek (Atl. Bergamo 1959 Oriocenter) repeats the 2023 bronze and lightens the PB by one hundredth with 10.27 (+1.0): with 10.29 Roberto Rigali (CS Carabinieri) is fifth with the seasonal and Jim Folajin Fonseca (Cento Torri Pavia) finished sixth, demolishing (-12/100) the PB set in the heat.
In the women’s field, this season’s emerging girls shine. Arianna De Masi (Atl. Meneghina) in the 100 meters takes the first Italian Absolute podium in 11.28 (+0.8), 8/100 behind Zaynab Dosso and two hundredths above the PB; important bronze for the athlete from Pavia Chiara Melon (Fiamme Azzurre), which brings the seasonal best to 11.49. Elisa Valens (Atl. Bergamo 1959 Oriocenter) at 17 years old climbs onto the first Absolute podium in the 200m: 23.19 (+0.7) for a bronze 4/100 from his Italian Under 20 record in a final that also sees Arianna De Masi fifth with a PB of 23.27 and Gloria Hooper (Atl. Brescia 1950) sixth (23.44). It is Giancarla Trevisan (Bracco) the great Lombard protagonist of the 400m: in the heat she remained one hundredth of a second away from her PB with 51.92, in the final she took silver behind Alice Mangione (CS Esercito/Atl. Brescia 1950, 51.57) with 52.09; good also Fatoumata Kabo (Atl. Carpenedolo), at the PB in the heat with 52.24 and then fourth in the final with 52.47 ahead of the Brescian Alessandra Bonora (Fiamme Gialle) fifth (52.68 but 52.43 in the heat) and Virginia Trojans (CUS Pro Patria Milano) sixth (52.88 but 52.72 in the heat).
COMPETITIONS AND MULTIPLE TESTS – Daring men’s pole vault race: Federico Biancoli (Atl. Riccardi Milano 1946) at 28 years old hits the first podium at the Italian Absolute Championships by winning gold. The Mantua native, tricolor Allievi in 2013 and fourth at the Absolute 2023 after a bad elbow injury in 2018, and Federico Bonanni (Studentesca Rieti Milardi) clear 5.15 at the second test and exit the scene at 5.25: Simone Bertelli commits three nulls at the entry measure, Matteo Oliveri after 5.10 passes to 5.30 without success and so for the title it is necessary to proceed to the Biancoli-Bonanni play-off. After an error each at 5.25 it goes down to 5.15: Biancoli scores and is champion of Italy, literally “buried” by the hugs of his training companions in Padua. First tricolor Absolute podium for Gabriel Tosti (Bergamo Stars), bronze in the triple jump with a solid 15.73 (+1.6) in the season in which he landed beyond 16 meters for the first time in his career.
In the women’s field the “MVP” is the junior Erika Saracens: the 18-year-old from Bracco in the triple jump is the author of a very solid series with four jumps over 13.10 and with the PB improved by one centimeter to 13.43 (-0.9) consolidates the seventh position in the Italian Under 20 all time rankings and takes the bronze, the first medal among the big ones. Indoor silver and outdoor silver for Veronica Crida in the long jump: the representative of Atletica Brescia 1950 with 6.19 (-0.4) remains only two centimetres away from the gold. Applause for Federica Star (Pro Sesto Cernusco): in the high jump she goes up three centimetres bringing her PB to 1.79 for fourth place. In the throws the women’s javelin stands out with the silver of Pascaline Adanhoegbe (CUS Pro Patria Milano), second in the summer (54.07) as it had happened in the winter. Fifth and at the seasonal record Alessia Beneduce (Bracco) in the hammer: 58.31.
The decathlon, finally: Dario Dester surrenders to a problem with one foot and three nulls at 1.84 in the high jump (after the weight he was in line with the score of the Italian absolute record in Rome) and the best Lombard is Alessandro Arrius (OSA Saronno), sixth with 6658 points.
OBSTACLES – Four medals between the barriers. In the 110m hurdles against the wind (-1.3) of the formidable Lorenzo Simonelli, two Lombards of the Fiamme Oro reach the podium: the Brescian Hassane Fofana the junior from Bergamo is silver with the seasonal best at 13.62 Matthew Togni bronze with 13.83, one tenth from the MPI Juniores. Bronze in the final of the 100m hurdles is the Lecco athlete Veronica Besana (Fiamme Gialle), 13.08 to precede the Brescia team Elena Carraro (Fiamme Gialle, 13.13), while the junior Celeste Polzonetti (Bracco) placed sixth (13.53 after the 13.49/+0.6 of the battery).
After two consecutive titles in the 400m hurdles Mario Lambrughi (Atl. Riccardi Milano 1946) is silver with 50.51 behind Giacomo Bertoncelli; in the women’s final (with two athletes based in Milan as Rebecca Sartori e Linda Olivieri silver and bronze) the Brescian Alessia Seramondi (Fiamme Gialle) is fifth in 57.30 after having brought the PB to 56.83 in the heat.
MIDDLE DISTANCE – After a rustic duel with Simone Barontini from Brescia Francis Partridge (Fiamme Gialle), indoor champion, is silver in the 800m in 1:45.89; in the women’s final Laura Pellicoro (Bracco) finds herself a bit bottled up 300 metres from the finish line and is fourth in 2:04.77 just ahead of Serena Troiani (CUS Pro Patria Milano, 2:04.97) and Milena Masolini (GP Valchiavenna, 2:05.19 after the 2:04.96 of the heat). In the men’s field, a very fast 5000m and a very tactical 1500m, with the Piedmontese based in Varese Peter Arese (Fiamme Gialle) respectively gold with the PB at 13:35.97 and silver: on the longest distance excellent times with Sebastian Parolini (GA Vertovese) fourth with 13:45.08 (PB), Samuel Medolago (Atl. Valle Brembana) fifth with 13:47.91, the Brianza native Luke Alfieri (Atl. Casone Noceto) sixth with 13:50.01 (PB) and the Bergamo native Ahmed Ouhda (CS Army) seventh with 13:58.56.
Women’s chapter: bronze medal in the 3000m steeplechase for Silvia Oggioni (CUS Pro Patria Milano), author of 10:06.76 and always in the heart of the challenge for the title against Eleonora Curtabbi and Linda Palumbo; in the 5000m Micol Majori (Pro Sesto Cernusco), leading for a long time before Nadia Battocletti’s acceleration, closes with the bronze in 15:37.91; in a fast 1500m the Bergamo athlete is fourth in 4:13.00 Martha Zenoni (Luiss) behind Ludovica Cavalli (Aeronautica/Bracco, third in 4:06.79) and grows to 4:19.10 Faith Gambo (New Atl. Fanfulla Lodigiana), just outside eight.
THE OTHER LOMBARDS IN THE TOP 8 – Marcia 10 km F: 6. Lidia Barcella (Bracco) 47:10. 10km walk M: 7. Gabriel Leg (Atl. Riccardi Milano 1946) 41:46 (PB). 400m M: 7. Peter Pivotto (Atl. Biotekna) 48.08 (batt. 47.05). 200m M (+1.8): 7. Edward Luraschi (OSA Saronno) 21.21 (beats 21.17/+0.2), 8. Mattia Donola (CS Carabinieri) 21.39 (batt. 21.36/-0.5). 100m F (+0.8): 6. Alessia Pavese (Air Force) 11.63 (batt. 11.59/-1.3). 3000m steeplechase: 7. John Steffanoni (CUS Insubria Varese Como) 8:50.33 (PB). 1500m M: 5. Giovanni Philippi (The Modena Brotherhood) 3:43.62, 7. Alexander Fight (GA Vertovese) 3:44.40, 8. Sebastian Parolini (GA Vertovese) 3:46.16. High M: 8. Matteo Sioli (Euroatletica 2002) 2.05. Long M: 7. Mohamed Reda Chahboun (Libertas Unicusano Livorno) 7.42 (+0.3). Triple M: 7. Matthew Romano (Atl. Riccardi Milano 1946) 15.31 (+0.8). High F: 7. Gloria Polotto (Atl. Vigevano) 1.70. F pole: 8. Jade Pozzato (Atl. Brescia 1950) 4.15. Triple F: 8. Deborah Tripodi (Atl. Brescia 1950) 12.37 (+1.6). Weight F: 6. Emmanuel Musumary (CUS Pro Patria Milano) 16.79. Disc M: 6. Stefano Marmonti (Libertas Unicusano Livorno) 51.43. Disc F: 7. Sofia Coppari (Atl. Brescia 1950) 48.39. Weight F: 5. Elisa Pintus (Bracco) 14.59. Hammer F: 7. Agatha Gremi (Art. Brescia 1950) 55.31. 110m hurdles M (-1.3): 7. Leonardo Tano (Atl. Meneghina) 14.07, 8. Victor Ghedina (Atl. Meneghina) 14.29 (batt. 14.16/0.0).
Caesar Rizzi
In the photos Grana/FIDAL: on home Federico Biancoli, on the right Valentina Trapletti.
