Tuffi, Bertocchi-Pellacani, silver with mockery: German gold for 9 cents of a point

The joke from the trampoline. It is a bitter silver – the seventh blue medal that equals the 2009 Turin expedition where with Tania Cagnotto the golds were 3 and instead in Budapest the golds are 2 – the one that the eighteen year old Roman Chiara Pellacani and the twenty six year old Milanese Elena Bertocchi from the trampoline 3 meters, the Olympic one for which two weeks ago in Tokyo in the World Cup the blue couple, defending defender, managed to remove the pass for the Games with a score of 283.77. This time 307.20 points were not enough: because the gold went to the German Lena Hentschel and Tina Punzel (who had beaten Pellacani yesterday in the individual) by 9 hundredths of a point. A trifle, however, that makes a big difference between winning and finishing second. The bronze is from the Russian Kliueva-Koroleva for 291.00, the wood and the British Reid-Torrance for 290.70.

At the head of the last dive, the double and a half back pike by 66.60 points was not enough. In the return pike the blue had collected 49.80 (1), in the reverse pike they were fifth (44-40), in the double and a half forward with a twist they were already virtually on the podium with 72 and in the triple and a half forward pike just before with 74.40. For Pellacani a very substantial loot with 5 medals (record of the review), for Bertocchi the gold from the small springboard and a loot of 7 medals for the expedition. The Germans interrupt the positive streak of golds that lasted for nine consecutive editions (eight Cagnotto-Dallapè, and one Bertocchi-Pellacani).

The protagonists

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Pellacani says: “I am really satisfied with these Europeans, I arrived with flat batteries. The first few days I mentally collapsed, but then luckily I was able to recover in bubble mode. I leader? No no I don’t want to take this responsibility. I just do what I love. I try to bring this spirit to the team. How does it end with a race like this in Tokyo? We will see, we will see. We are a beautiful couple. I must say that there was no need to encourage Elena after yesterday’s race, she did everything by herself, she canceled yesterday’s race, today she had a fantastic attitude. How far away is the rest of the world? In my opinion not so much, we are there. We are up to it. What does this European leave me? It made me think about how much I have grown, how we worked well with Domenico (the coach Rinaldi, ed), made me realize my level. I took a step further than next year ”. Bertocchi adds: “I slept 12 hours to work off the individual match, today I was on the ball in the match. I had a hard time slowing down to keep up with Chiara, because I was at full throttle. I’m happy. A gold and a silver? The most important thing is the Olympic qualification, though. 74.40 points with the triple and a half ahead? Never made, maybe we had made 72. Those 9 cents are a regret though. Perhaps better this way, given that the Germans finished third in the World Cup behind us and they here ahead of us. For once I finally enjoyed myself, I managed to enjoy myself even though I was at full throttle. We were aiming to stay on 290 points, we did not expect this score. In the compulsory dives we have lost a few points too many, as in the world cup in the preliminary round, on the overturned headlong, on the presalto, maybe those nine cents are on that dive. The obligatory are the part to improve “.

Loses Daley

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He lost the king. Tom Daley, who here won the world title from the platform, loses the European title from the platform with 533.30: 31.05 points less than the Russian Aleksandr Bondar, author of a 564.35. The bronze goes to the Russian Victor Minibaev (530.05), under the podium the German Timo Barthel at 499.10. Twelfth Italian Riccardo Giovannini with 342.90 points. For Italy, therefore, 7 medals: gold for the 3-meter mixed synchro Chiara Pellacani-Matteo Santoro and for Elena Bertocchi from 1 meter; silver for the 3-meter Pellacani-Bertocchi synchro, for the individual synchro with Pellacani and for the team event with Pellacani, Larsen, Di Maria and Giovannini; bronze for Pellacani and Giovanni Tocci of 1 meter. Final diving medal table – 1. Russia 4-4-3; 2. Germany 4-1-3; 3. Italy 2-3-2; 4. Great Britain 1-3-1; 5. Ukraine 1-0-2.