Athletics, European Team Championships: Italy second, for the first time on the podium

From our correspondent Andrea Buongiovanni

@abuongi

30 May
– Chorzow (Polonia)

Italy, for the first time in nine editions, is on the podium of the European Teams, legacy of the European Cup that was, with a unique men-women ranking. The Azzurri, in Chorzow, are splendid seconds, preceded only by the host Poland who confirms the success of Bydgoszcz 2019. The gap, at the end, is no more than two and a half points. With Great Britain, third, to five. Then, further away, Germany, Spain and France, only sixth. It is not even the case to complain too much for the absence of Gimbo Tamberi who in the high, injured and not replaced, led to a tricolor haul of zero points. Or for the absences of big names like Marcell Jacobs, Filippo Tortu, Paolo Dal Molin and Larissa Iapichino. The other national teams also had to deal with various flop tests (disqualifications, competitions without measures and messes in the relay), as well as with numerous forfeits.

The winners

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The blue result is seasoned with eight successes (four in the first day, as many in the second) and, out of a total of forty races, by even nineteen places in the top three. The previous records stopped at four and twelve. Let me be clear: the world summit remains something else and on the road leading to the Tokyo Olympics we must not delude ourselves or create false expectations. But the signal is important and very strong: the movement is alive, evolving and, thinking in perspective, full of promising young people. Chorzow himself definitively launches a new generation. Take the winners of the second day: if Fausto Desalu, who dominates the 200 with 20 “48 (-1.0 m / s), at 25 years old can be considered a veteran, certainly Gaia Sabbatini from Teramo and Nadia Battocletti from Trentino are not. , 21-year-old middle-distance runners who, in tactical and complicated competitions, prevail in 1500 (4’14 “88) and 5000 (15’46” 96). Then, to close the review, as two years ago, the triumph of the men’s 4×400 of captain Davide Re, of Alessandro Sibilio (22 years old), who scores a double with the 400 obstacles on Saturday, Edoardo Scotti (21) and Vladimir Aceti (22 ): the 3’02 ”64, best continental time trial of the year, is a good starting point to do well even at the Games where, it should be remembered, all five relays will be competing.

The placings

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In the count of individual podiums, three second and two third places must be added to the ten of the first day. An unleashed Dalia Kaddari (20 years old) makes 22 “89 in the 200 (+0.6): with an improvement of 22/100 on personnel, 9 from the Olympic standard, the fourth Italian all-time performance after those of Libania Grenot, Manuela Levorato and Masullo Masullo. Also placed are an always reliable Luminosa Bogliolo in the 100 hs (13 ”05 / -0.1) and an increasing Alessia Trost in the high (1.91). Third places instead for Osama Zoghlami in the 3000 hedges (8’40 ”41) and for the women’s 4×400 of Alice Mangione, Eleonora Marchiando, Petra Nardelli and Raphaela Lukudo (3’29” 05).