Paris 2024 Olympics, Antonella Palmisano in tears after withdrawing from march
Antonella Palmisano doesn’t hold back tears after retiring from women’s march
It ends in the worst way the women’s 20 km march at the Paris 2024 Olympics for Antonella Palmisano. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, in fact, è was forced to retire after just over 13 km of the event. The Apulian star was gradually breaking away from the leading group without being able to change pace in an attempt to recover the disadvantage, and at the thirteenth kilometer she decided to forfeit amid tears.
"It hurts, I could not imagine such a scenario. It's been an easy year, now I have to metabolize these hours to figure out what to do for the relay. I felt perfect and in great shape, I don’t know what happened. But this è sport and you have to accept it. We are not robots, today was not my day. I recognize myself in Errigo's words, as it can't be today's performance that identifies the athlete I am.
I have to find the strength and courage to get back up, as I have already done a thousand other times. I expected a race on the pace and I was ready, also becauseè the pace at the beginning was the same as the last training sessions done at home in which I felt good, in fact I wanted a race of this level becauseè I hoped to leave behind the others as much as possible, forè today I am the one who was left behind. Physically it will beè easier to restart becauseè I did a little more than half the race, what will beè difficult è to restart mentally, but I am used to difficult things. For the relay race will decideò with the coaches, I hope with the team to find the strength to be there" these are the warm statements of the blue marcher.
For Antonella Palmisano this is the first career withdrawal during a major world event. Winning the women’s march è was China’s Jiayu Yang in 1h25'54" ahead of Spain’s Maria Perez in 1h26'19" and Australia’s Jemima Montag in 1h26'25".
