Dariya Derkach Wins a Fairytale Gold Medal for Italy in the Triple Jump

Another magnificent triumph for Italy at the European Championships in Birmingham. Dariya Derkach won the gold medal in the triple jump with a personal best of 14.60 (+1.9), at the end of a competition she dominated from start to finish. At 33 years old, after undergoing three Achilles tendon surgeries last season, the Italian athlete treated herself to an unforgettable evening.

Derkach started with a 14.53 that was slightly over the wind limit (+2.1), followed by a 14.48 (+1.3) and a foul beyond 15 meters. Then, on her fourth jump, came the breakthrough: 14.60, eight centimeters better than her previous personal best, and a gold medal ahead of Belgium’s Saliyya Guisse (14.46/+2.4) and Bulgaria’s Aleksandra Nacheva (14.40/+3.4). For the Italian Air Force athlete, coached by Alessandro Nocera, this marks the culmination of an extraordinary comeback after a period marred by injuries.

It is Italy’s first-ever gold medal in the women’s triple jump at the European Outdoor Championships. Before Derkach, Italy’s best performance had been the silver medal won by Simona La Mantia in 2010, a year before her continental indoor title. The other Italian in the competition, Erika Saraceni, finished 12th with a jump of 13.48 (+2.2).

Francesco Pernici narrowly missed the podium in the 800 meters, finishing fifth in 1:45.77 after a strong comeback. The Italian finished just six hundredths of a second behind the bronze medalist, while the title went to Ireland’s Mark English in 1:45.36, ahead of Croatia’s Marino Bloudek (1:45.62) and Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui (1:45.71). In the decathlon, Dario Dester finished in 11th place with 8,032 points, while Alberto Nonino placed 20th with 7,495.

There was also good news from the 200-meter race, with Fausto Desalu and Filippo Dezza qualifying for the final. Desalu clocked 20.08 (+2.9), the third-fastest time in the semifinals, while 20-year-old Dezza improved his time to 20.35 (+0.5), becoming the fifth-fastest Italian ever in the event. Eduardo Longobardi was eliminated, despite setting a new personal best of 20.42 (+1.6). After four days of competition, Italy’s medal tally now stands at six: 3 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze.