U-20 World Championships: Italy Shines—Daniele Inzoli and the Mixed 4×100-Meter Relay Team Win Gold

The blue is shining bright at the Under-20 World Championships currently underway in Eugene, United States. After winning “only” six gold medals in 40 years of U20 World Championships, the team has now claimed three in a single day.

Following Fabio’s triumph with Serena, gold medals came from Daniele Inzoli in the long jump (7.97) and the mixed 4×100-meter relay team featuring Edwin Fermin Galvan, Elisa Valensin, Francesco Pagliarini, and Kelly Doualla—who also set a new world record with a final time of 41.21.

“I could already tell during warm-ups that I was feeling good; I felt I could compete for the win and that I’d have to ‘nail’ my first jumps to do so. The competition didn’t go in the best possible way, but it went well: I nailed the first two jumps (in addition to the winning 7.97, a 7.93/+0.7, ed.), and I think that was crucial in gaining an advantage over my opponents. The final jumps were truly grueling—almost ‘agonizing’ for me—because they were really difficult. Fortunately, we brought home the gold medal, and I owe a huge thank you to my teammates: all the team’s cheering gave me that extra boost to keep going and not give up halfway through the competition,” commented Daniele Inzoli.

“When I tell myself, ‘We’re world champions’… it’s simply fantastic! We deserved it, but we’ll definitely be able to do even better: this is just the beginning,” said Fermin Galvan, the first leg swimmer in the 4×100 medley relay, a native of Campodarsego, Padua, coached by Andrea Peggio and a silver medalist in the 100 last year at the EYOF (Libertas Sanp is his club).