European Championships, first 40 Azzurri coming to Rome

Europeans, the Azzurri

The countdown to the European Championships in Rome continues. The first large group of national team athletes, about 40, will be in the capital on Wednesday, June 5, two days before the start of the European Championships at the Olympic Stadium (June 7-12). In the following days all the others will gradually arrive, each a couple of days before his or her debut date in the continental review. Each with his or her own goal, whether it be a medal, a prestigious placement or to make an international experience of the highest value.

È already in Rome is Italian weight record holder Leonardo Fabbri, the reigning world silver medalist and indoor world bronze medalist, Europe’s top medalist with a 22.95 in Savona, who trained at the Paolo Rosi stadium this afternoon. With him also the’other Italian Zane Weir who is trying to recover from the stop due to ankle sprain: for the first time è returned to throw with full rotation. Meanwhile, there are some new additions to the Azzurri team. In place of Andrea Cosi, who did not complete his recovery from a recent injury, Gianluca Picchiottino, who was officially summoned earlier today, will compete in the 20 km march. In addition, the third of the Azzurri to run the 400 meters (in addition to Scotti and Sito) will be Riccardo Meli: the renouncements of Davide Re and Lorenzo Benati, who will also not be part of the relay group, are official. There will be 114, therefore, the Azzurri committed to the European Championships in Rome.

For most of the Azzurri, the morning of Thursday, June 6, on the eve of the competitions, will be an opportunity to get even more into the European climate by testing the track and platforms of the Olympic Stadium in the official training scheduled from 9 to 11:30 a.m. (including trials with starters for sprinters). In the afternoon, è instead, the classic team meeting is scheduled, with motivational speeches by the captains and the swearing-in ceremony of the athletes making their debut in the absolute national team.

All this while at the Olympic Stadium the anticipation grows for the big event that will begin on Friday morning at 9:35 a.m. with the batteries and qualifying rounds, and that will see a total of 38 Azzurri engaged in Day 1. Late Friday afternoon, however, the first medals will be awarded, those of the women’s 20 km march (registered are Olympic gold medalist and world bronze medalist Antonella Palmisano, World Championships mixed relay team winner Valentina Trapletti, and 2019 50 km world bronze medalist Eleonora Giorgi). In the evening, also up for grabs are the titles of the women’s 5,000 (direct finals with Azzurri Nadia Battocletti, Federica Del Buono and Micol Majori), the mixed 4×400 with Italy looking to secure qualification for the Paris Olympics, and, for throws, the men’s discus and women’s weight. Tickets on sale at roma2024.vivaticket.it.