Nadia Battocletti unbeatable in Europe, fourth triumph in a year

Nadia Battocletti wins again. It’s another triumphant day for the star athlete who wins gold in the 10 kilometers at the European Road Running Championships in Leuven, Belgium, and also drags the Italian team to success.An exciting solo, at an Italian record pace with a time of 31:10 under a light rain improving by nine seconds her record from last year, after the attack around the seventh kilometer that makes her uncatchable for her opponents. Olympic 10,000-meter silver medalist, 25 years old yesterday, celebrates her fourth European title in just over ten months and in three different surfaces: 5000 and 10,000 on track in Rome, cross in Antalya, now on road. The terrain changes, but the verdict is always the same, and again, as in last December’s cross-country, the woman from Trentino leads the Italian team to gold: the collective success comes also thanks to Sofiia Yaremchuk, seventh in 31:39, and Valentina Gemetto, ninth in 31:44, both at personal best with three azzurre in the top ten, then 22nd Elisa Palmero (32:39), 28th Federica Del Buono (32:46) and 29th Gaia Colli (32:47). Emerging for silver was Germany’s Eva Dieterich (31:25) and bronze to Slovenia’s Klara Lukan (31:26), both making a comeback over Portugal’s Mariana Machado (31:30) who finished fourth. In the team podium, second Germany and third France. The marathon, from Brussels to Leuven, kicks off at 10:15 a.m. with Iliass Aouani and Giovanna Epis.

“Very happy, I had a lot of fun, especially in the final part – the words of a beaming Nadia Battocletti – There were several possibilities, then my dad and coach Giuliano told me at the seventh kilometer: ‘you have to go now’… I didn’t think there were three kilometers to go, but it was the right tactic and I liked the last two, with ups and downs, where you also needed freshness to cut corners. It was a bit cold in the race, it was still very windy, but the rain bothered me more in the warm-up and in the end the conditions were right for running.”

Different weather than Saturday’s half-marathon, with a light rain soaking the asphalt and about 13 degrees. The men start first, half a minute later the women and participants in the ‘open’ race. In the women’s race Nadia Battocletti goes first, flanked by Slovenia’s Klara Lukan. After the uphill, mid-race passage of 15:32 at the 5-kilometer mark, the other Italian Sofiia Yaremchuk pulls back on the leading pair but there are also France’s Mekdes Woldu, Sweden’s Sarah Lahti, Belgium’s Jana Van Lent and Portugal’s Mariana Machado. A quartet then formed at the lead with the two blue women along with Lukan and Lahti. At the seventh kilometer, Nadia Battocletti decided it was time to attack: the Olympic silver medalist gained a few seconds on the three chasers, then increased the gap and took off solo. Individual gold and also team gold with the key results of Sofiia Yaremchuk, Italian marathon and half marathon record holder, and Valentina Gemetto, tricolor champion over the distance, who after the finish line also experiences the emotion of her fiancé Paolo Aimar’s marriage proposal.