The much desired medal now becomes reality for Great Nnachi, silver in the women’s pole vault at the under 20 European Athletics Championships. After having long pursued Italian citizenship, which arrived last October, the 18-year-old from Turin is finally on the podium in the blue jersey. She succeeds in Jerusalem with the measure of 4.15 in the first round, in a race that started without errors even at the entry altitude of 4.05. She then closes with a null at 4.25 and two more at 4.35, with which she would have improved her personal best in the duel with the Swede Sara Winberg, the only one to exceed 4.25.
A silver shared with the Lithuanian Rugile Miklyciute, who like the Piedmontese has a clear path up to 4.15.
For Nnachi it is the second presence in the national team after having made her debut in the indoor match in March in Liévin with France and Spain, but for the first time Great Nnachi, bearer of the Battaglio Cus Torino and just enlisted in the Carabinieri, participates in an international championship and immediately gets a medal. Born in Turin to Nigerian parents, she soon fell in love with pole vaulting under the guidance of coach Luciano Gemello, in 2018 she began to win in the Italian championships starting from the cadet category (under 16) conquering Italian titles also in the sprint, thanks to the federal regulations that allow those who do not yet have citizenship to compete as “equal”, while in 2020 she was awarded the certificate of Bishop of the Republic by President Sergio Mattarella.
“I’m quite happy to have taken the silver. I was aiming for gold – comments Great Nnachi – and I know I could have done it, but that’s how it went and I can’t cry for a silver medal, because it’s already so important to be here to wear this jersey. I used the same pole in the first two jumps, then I changed it but the other one is too hard, we would need an intermediate one. At 4.25 I saw that I was second and even if I had nothing would have changed, so I moved on to 4.35m with two high attempts, but there were technical problems. I’ve been thinking about this moment for at least five years, ever since I was a cadet and I realized I didn’t have Italian citizenship”.
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