by Gaia Piccardi, sent to Glasgow
Mattia Furlani, silver in the long run in Glasgow, is 19 years old and the youngest. The tears, the joy and the dedication to mother Kathy Seck. Sister Erika, father Marcello and girlfriend Giulia
Mattia Furlani has no desire to return to earth. And on his journey he brings with him Lorenzo Simonelli, silver in the 60hs (7″43) behind the monster Holloway (7″29), and Zaynab Dosso, bronze in the sprint (7″05) in front of the giantesses Alfred (6″98) and Swoboda (7”00), standard bearers of the young and multi-ethnic Italy that has stuck its claws into the world.
There are Senegalese, Tanzanian and Ivory Coast globules in the blood that flows through the national team of talent and irreverence, Lorenzo moved to Rome from Dodoma at the age of five to follow his anthropologist, Za (wisdom in Arabic) landed in 2009 from Abidjan , the flag large enough to welcome anyone in the wake of Mattia who says good morning with a silver leap. Then Furlani wraps his hollow bones as a 19 year old still growing inside the tricolor (If I think about how many times I’ve seen him on Tamberi and Jacobs I tell myself that this moment, wow, so much stuff…), he cries more on live TV who is in the arms of his mother Khaty, who trains him, and smiles with the world championship medal around his neck, won in Glasgow with the same measurement as the champion Tentoglou (8.22) but with a second best result of 9 centimeters shorter (8. 19 versus 8.10).
Read the program for today March 3 HERE
The future is already here, under the messy curls of an Italian boy who will change athletics as much as Jannik Sinner is revolutionizing tennis (I’m not an expert but Jannik won me over: honest, serious, he has a mentality that I only saw in Gimbo He inspires me: his dreams are mine). Of course I don’t have the relationship with Tentoglou that Gimbo has with Barshim and this isn’t the Olympics – he explains marvelously dazed -, I would have gone on to compete but I’ll get my revenge soon, at the European Championships in Rome.
If Italy without big names asked for an assumption of responsibility from its players, here it is. After Fabbri’s somewhat controversial bronze, two silvers and a bronze rain down on the medal table (Simonelli and Dosso share coach Frinolli), Mattia’s of inestimable value thanks to the promises he brings with him: I know well the amount of work that goes into ‘ behind, there is still much to do. I have been thinking about these World Cups for 20 weeks, Istanbul (indoor European Championships) and Budapest (outdoor World Cup) were lessons learned, I return from Glasgow with greater mental stability, stronger. The silver dedicated to his mother, Kathy Seck, a former sprinter of Senegalese origins: Furlani’s small ancient world first in Grottaferrata and then in Rieti (he was born in Marino) includes his sister Erika, the second in the family to jump like a cricket after dad Marcello (2.27m high climber), and his girlfriend Giulia who lives in Rome, where Mattia, a fanatic of the De Rossi boys, can often be found at the stadium.
Furlani was born to jump, in two years he will become the best: technically already excellent, his speed will grow says the Olympic and world champion Tentogou of him, the battle in the final was proud, managed by a veteran from blue who is more social than Sinner (he opened a You Tube channel to talk about his days) but equally mature. I enter a new dimension, mental and physical – he tells the BBC, the two earrings with the cross because a bit of faith is important (sic) -, I have to compete, I lack experience, I go to the gym even if I will never be the Hulk , I added steps to the run-up because I wasn’t ready yet, so I keep it at 16 steps. Now I know what I’m worth.
The long wave of Tokyo arrived in Scotland, even without the big names. United colors of Italy.
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March 3, 2024 (modified March 3, 2024 | 07:32)
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