Two days of racing out of six in total and Italy with ten medals, including five gold, is all alone in first place in the medal table of the XXVI European Championships in Rome, outclassing all his opponents. Roads, tracks and platforms, inside and outside the Olympic Stadium, are a land of success and very important results for Italian athletics a month and a half before the key event of 2024, the Paris Olympic Games. There are ten medals, 5 gold, 4 silver and one bronze. Second place is Holland with only 3, one for each color, third is France with two. The evening of June 8, 2024 will remain engraved in the annals of Italian sport, a bit like that of August 1, 2021 when in Tokyo, Marcell Jacobs and Gianmarco Tamberi won Olympic gold in the 100 meters and the high jump.
An evening which, in 42 minutes, gave athletics three gold medals for a total of six medals in a single evening: a “historic night” which had never happened before in history. To open the evening, the bronze in the 20 kilometers walks Francesco Fortunato. Greeted by the roar of the Olympic stadium, he finished on the finish line in 1h19:54 behind the Swede. Perseus Karlstrom (1h19:13) and Spanish Paul McGrath (1h19:31) after separating the other pursuers from the leading duo. The maximum number of medals in a single day for the Azzurri so far was five, the last in Split in 1990.
In the heptathlon, he deserves applause Sveva Gereviniprotagonist of great progress with 6379 in sixth place, surpassing the Italian record of 194 points after 25 years (6185 of Gertrud Bacher in 1999).
They carry the most precious metal on their shoulders Leonard Fabbri And Lorenzo Simonelli: the Florentine thrower in fact managed to throw his weight at 22.45 meters, a measurement that allowed him to win the crown of European champion ahead of the Croatian Mihaljevic and Polish Haratyk, completing the podium. “But now I want to beat the Americans, in a big race. And I'm still not at the top, I have to keep working and have confidence,” said Fabbri (reigning vice-world champion) after the race, also referring to the Paris Games.
At the 110 hurdles the Romain Lorenzo Simonellialready author of an excellent performance in the semi-final, 'hit' everyone by running in 13''05, leading from start to finish. It is the second world time of the year, and the new Italian record, and projects him towards the Paris Games For him, a 22 year old born in Tanzania but raised in the capital where he lives in EUR, big fan basketball as the captain of the national team. 'Gimbo' Tamberiit's particularly nice to have won at home.
Instead, it's a money jump that sees the protagonist Mattia Furlani, 20 years and a bright future ahead of us. The measurement arrives immediately, on the first try, at 8.38 meters which is worth the world record for under-20s, improving the record, already his, by two centimeters. Step by step, step by step, just like his momentum. A challenge, the one with Miltiadis Tentoglou, reigning Olympic champion, who excited the public: the Greek was still too strong, capable of establishing – and immediately after equaling – the championship record with 8.65. Furlani waited for him, clapped his hands, and then they waited together for the result. A champion also in his behavior, despite his very young age. “It was the best race of my life. We can do much better, with time and hard work, these aspects will come. Today was a big test, we must continue on this path,” he said. he declared immediately after the conquered money.
Then speed. Marcel Jacobs he won gold in the men's 100 meters at the European Championships in Rome. As expected, Jacobs didn't think much about the time (10''02), but only about the idea of finishing in front of everyone and confirming the title he held. The Olympic champion has thus taken another step towards the Parisian event. Jacobs first looked at the half-empty glass: “The calf became stiff and I lost a little speed in the final, I expected to run faster than in the semi-final where I ran agile”, said Jacobs who then also looked at the positive side: “The important thing was the title and coming back champion gives a lot of confidence, now keep working, I knew I wouldn't arrive here in the best conditions, there will have some work to do but I'm happy with this medal.” Then, Jacobs also had a thought for his teammate Ali: “I've been saying Ali will run fast for years. I'm very happy, we both wanted medals, we will play for the future.”
And it was Ali who made Jacobs' victory even sweeter. A second place which feels like only a first small step. Chituru AliIn fact, he doesn't set any limits because he wants to do “something incredible” at the Olympics. The Italian double in the 100 meters represents the icing on the cake of a magical Saturday which brought Italy to 10 medals (5 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze).
The wait is now reserved for the captain Gimbo Tamberi compete today in the high jump. On the eve of the match, Tamberi warned everyone to be ready for the great results that were to come. He was right, all he needs is him to end a weekend that will be unforgettable.
