World Relays, there's also Filippo Tortu among the 32 Azzurri looking for Tokyo

Technical director Antonio La Torre has announced the list of those called up for the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, the world relay event scheduled for Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11.

There are 32 selected (16 men, 16 women) who will be part of the five teams seeking qualification for the September 13-21 World Championships in Tokyo: 4×100 men and women, 4×400 men, women and mixed. Also competing for the first time in the international context is the 4×100 mixed (order of fractions: women, women, men, men), a specialty that will award Olympic medals in Los Angeles in 2028.

Tokyo Olympic 4×100 champions Filippo Tortu, Lorenzo Patta and Fausto Desalu, Budapest world silver medalist Roberto Rigali and Rome European gold medalist Matteo Melluzzo are also among those summoned to Guangzhou. Also on the team are European 4×400 mixed silver medalists Edoardo Scotti, Alice Mangione and Anna Polinari, Rome men’s quartet silver medalists Vladimir Aceti and Riccardo Meli, and 4×100 relay bronze medalists at Munich 2022 Dalia Kaddari and Alessia Pavese.

Four freshmen, making their first call to the overall national team: Gaya Bertello, Alice Pagliarini, Francesco Domenico Rossi, Clarissa Vianelli. The event puts 14 places up for grabs at the World Championships in Tokyo out of the 16 planned for each of the five specialties (the other 2 places will be taken from the world lists) and in Italy can be followed between late morning and early afternoon (the Chinese evening) on Rai channels.