Dream European Championships: gold for Francesco Crotti and the 4×100 girls
Wonderful Italy also in the last day of a fantastic edition of the under-20 European Championships in Tampere, Finland. On Sunday, in fact, two historic successes arrived: it is gold medal for both the women’s 4×100 relay (thanks to Alice Pagliarini, Elisa Valensin, Margherita Castellani and Kelly Doualla), and for Francesco Crotti in the triple jump.
The 4×100 relay team of the Azzurre flew to the gold medal with the extraordinary time of 43.72 for Alice Pagliarini, Elisa Valensin, Margherita Castellani and Kelly Doualla, the European 100 champion who won her second title at this event with a formidable last fraction ahead of Great Britain (43.98) and Poland (44.07). It is the first success in history in this specialty for Italy with the national record for the category (demolished the 44.40 of Aurora Berton, Moillet Kouakou, Alessia Carpinteri and Vittoria Fontana in 2018 in Jesolo) and the fourth U20 continental time ever.
Clamorous triumph in the triple jump for Francesco Crotti, who lands a personal best of 15.93 (+1.3) with his second jump, improving by seven centimeters: the Lombard 2007 class, already European U18 silver medalist last season, wins 32 years after Paolo Camossi. Beaten by France’s Emmanuel Idinna (15.85/+1.6) and Turkey’s Emre Colak (15.75/+1.3), sixth the other Italian Aldo Rocchi (15.68/+1.7).
Two golds and three medals celebrated in just 12 minutes, in a whirlwind of emotions also for Anita Nalesso’s bronze in the weight with 15.62. The 18-year-old from Veneto was in the lead for two rounds and then in provisional second place until the last throw of Ukraine’s Anhelina Shepel who overtook her for the second best measure (15.30 vs. 14.72), gold to Greece’s Maria Rafailidou with 16.16. The only Italian women weigher on the podium at the European U20s had been Assunta Legnante, bronze in 1997. Instead, the men’s 4×100 with Luca Corradin, Francesco Pagliarini, Diego Nappi and Daniele Orlando stopped at the first change.
