Athletics, Italy, 2022 technical structure launched

Not a revolution – after the Olympic results, difficult to imagine – but more than a shock. The director Antonio La Torre announces the new blue technical structure (approved by the federal council with 12 votes in favor and the opposite of the deputy vice president Sergio Baldo), in addition to the list of athletes who will make up the Elite Club 2022 (unanimous choice): in in both cases, the news is consistent.

Technical structure

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Six sector managers: three confirmed, three new names (plus Paolo Germanetto who is entrusted with the mountain running). Speed ​​remains with Filippo Di Mulo, obstacles for Gianni Tozzi and jumps for Claudio Mazzaufo (as well as multiple tests ad interim). Middle distance runs to Chicco Leporati, throws to Nicola Vizzoni and marches to Alessandro Gandellini. The launches fell under the sphere of Mazzaufo, while La Torre himself had the interim responsibility for middle distance and walking. If Vizzoni and Gandellini had been collaborators of the structure for a long time, the 67-year-old Leporati – although on the lips of many for months – essentially comes out of nowhere. Three times blue at the end of the seventies and twice Italian champion of the 1500s (in 1978 and 1980), the following decade he coached today’s federal president Stefano Mei, also European champion of 10,000 in Stuttgart 1986, from La Spezia like him, for then devote himself mainly to territorial technical and political-sporting activities (since April he has been the provincial Coni delegate). Considering, for example, the new lack of involvement of Stefano Baldini, “creator” in the role of youth manager of the group that today makes the national team great, but also the exclusion from the “team” of veterans such as Gianni Ghidini or Gaspare Polizzi in favor of technicians from the relative experience in the sector, it is clear that Leporati – net of his great moral standing – will be a special commentator. In the context of dutiful applause to Luciano Gigliotti who ends an entire life of commitment to the sector.

Elite Club

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The “high level” athletes, who will be assured of first-rate assistance, while waiting to define a man for the 4×100 and another for the 4×400 of gender and / or mixed, go from 46 to 61 (33 men and 28 women). Following criteria that appear purely dictated by the results and placings of last season, consequently generating anomalous situations, 34 are confirmed, 27 are new, 12 are excluded: also divided between a super top bracket (the seven Olympic gold medals) and a bracket top (of thirteen athletes) which includes Aceti, Re, Scotti, Sibilio (400, 400 hs, 4×400), Crippa (5000 / 10,000), Faniel (marathon), Randazzo (long), Dallavalle (triple), Weir (weight) and, among the women, Battocletti (5000), Bogliolo (100 hs), Iapichino (long) and Giorgi (march). The long list of the 27 “promoters”, in addition to Dallavalle, Sibilio and Battocletti themselves, includes Manenti (4×100), Benati (4×400), Dal Molin (110 hs), Abdelwahed (3000 hedges), Bocchi and Ihemeje (triple), Ponzio (weight), Faloci (disc), Agrusti, Fortunato, Tontodonati (march) and, in the women’s field, Fontana (4×100), Marchiando and Nardelli (4×400), Sabbatini (1500), Bruni (auction), Derkach (triple), Fantini (hammer), Barcella, Becchetti and Trapletti (march). Instead, Cattaneo (4×100), Galvan (4×400), Chiappinelli (3000 hedges), Fofana (110 hs), Lambrughi (400 hs), Antonelli and Chiesa (march), Cairoli (multiple) and, among the women, Lukudo are released and Trevisan (4×400), Dossena (marathon) and Trost (high).

Boom members

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Among the various announcements, that of Atletica Italiana Awards, in Rome on Tuesday 7 December, the closing party of the year and, above all, that of a boom in members among the very young: in the last four months there was a + 36% between the under 16s and almost + 50% among the under 12s. Then the calendars, with the Indoor Absolutes confirmed in Ancona on 25-27 February. New formula for the Absolutes (24-26 June): in all specialties the first 11 of the seasonal ranking and the first 5 of a new review, the Challenge Absolute (4-5 June) will participate. Taking away so many the satisfaction of being there, without the guarantee that the best will be there.