Paralympic Italy is in a hurry and puts the arrow thanks to yesterday’s 7 medals. Almost all of the last week is still missing at the Tokyo Games, but Luca Pancalli’s 115 boys are amazing the world and, by putting two more golds in the game bag in the Aquatics Center tank with the iron women of swimming Arjola Trimi (100 style Libero S3) and Carlotta Gilli (200 mixed SM13), tied the successes of their Olympic colleagues: 10 to 10. “We are winning women”. Most of the podiums, 22, are for women, plus a mixed one (swimming) against 11 for men. The pink advantage, at the moment, is also for the most precious metal: 6 golds to 4 for the fairer sex.
The overall medals are already 34, because to the triumphs that have reached the double figures are added 11 silvers and 13 bronzes that hoist the blue delegation in eighth position in the medal table. There are only six to match the Olympic record of 40 podiums, set right here in Tokyo less than a month ago. The challenge to the Olympics was an inspiration: many medalists reaffirm that they admired the achievements of Jacobs, Tamberi, Ganna, Paltrinieri and the other Italian aces, imagining what their races would be like shortly thereafter. It is almost impossible, however, to approach the Paralympic one of the first edition of the Games in Rome 1960, because they were other times, other classifications and the comparison cannot hold up: for pure statistics, there were 82 medals of which 28 gold, 30 silver, 24 bronzes.
More likely the company to reach the second edition with more medals, that of Seoul 1988, in which a certain Francesca Porcellato made her debut, who in the night kicked off her 11th participation in summer and winter, whizzing with the handbike in the time trial on the circuit at the foot of Mount Fuji where Filippo Ganna touched the podium.
In addition to the many medal possibilities between the lanes, a real guarantee in this Paralympics, para-cycling and hand-biking led by Porcellato and Luca Mazzone want to leave their mark in the name of Alex Zanardi, great driver of the movement in London 2012 and Rio 2016. Speaking of Brazil, five years ago there were 39 medals (10 golds, 14 silvers, 15 bronzes). So, Italy is already great and we still have arrows in the bow, no longer compounds like Maria Andrea Virgilio (yesterday bronze), but with the Piedmontese archer Elisabetta Mijno, who in the spring renounced the Olympic qualification to specialize in orthopedics at the Cto of Turin. Or the wild Assunta Legnante, who today wants to surprise in the record before also trying her hand in the beloved shot put in which she is undefeated at the 2012 London Games.
Speaking of women who are going strong, make a note of the appointment on Saturday 4 September (2.26 pm). Three Italians race for gold in the 100 meters T63: Martina Caironi, Ambra Sabatini and Monica Contrafatto. The air of Magic Nights is again in the air at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium. –
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