Pursuit, near feat

Who said that at the Olympics only getting on the podium counts? The Italian pursuit quartet finished in 6th place, but what Filippo Ganna, Francesco Lamon, Simoni Consonni and Liam Bertazzo did can really be considered a feat. Rescued a few days before the opening ceremony thanks to the non-admission of Russia, the Italians did not just hit a place among the top 8, but even retouched the Italian record that already belonged to them.

The time 3’55″724 (previous record 3’56″393) was not enough, however, to enter the medal zone: by just one hundredth, New Zealand won the final for bronze, which they then lost to Denmark. In the final for 5th place the Azzurri, overwhelmed by fatigue, were then defeated by Germany.

Gold to Great Britain, which at the end of a spectacular final got the better of the never tame Australia: for the British also the world record, set in the semifinals and then tweaked in the clash for gold. Inevitable regrets in thinking about what could have happened if the Italian poker could have prepared in time.