Bochum, evening with three golds and a bronze for Italian athletics
Exciting evening for Italian athletics with three gold medals and a bronze at the Universiade in Bochum, Germany. Three successes all for women: the first to celebrate is Alice Muraro who again takes the title in the 400 hurdles for the second consecutive edition, two years after the one in Chengdu, to the tune of a personal best. The Vicenza woman with 54.60 takes thirteen hundredths off her record from last season, set in the semifinals at the European Championships in Rome, consolidates third place in the all-time Italian lists and also stamps the standard for the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo (September 13-21) set at 54.65. It was a race dominated by the 24-year-old from Aeronautica who took the lead on the last straight and then dug an ever-widening gap between herself and her opponents: more than a second ahead of silver medalist Michelle Smith (Virgin Islands, 55.65), bronze to Hungary’s Sara Mato (55.92). It is the fourth gold in a row for Italy in this specialty in the series that began with Ayomide Folorunso’s one-two punch in 2017 in Taipei and 2019 in Naples.
In the 800 meters, Eloisa Coiro became university world champion in 1:59.84. She started as the favorite and on the track she moved in the best possible way, with lucidity, coming out at the right time: the Roman of the Fiamme Azzurre in the last corner managed to launch her progression, flanked Spain’s Daniela Garcia (later bronze with 2:00.12) and also overtook Switzerland’s Veronica Vancardo (silver in 2:00.08) before crossing the finish line with her arms raised. In a season that has already seen her drop to 1:58.64 after coming close to a podium finish at the European Indoor Championships (fourth in Apeldoorn), as well as contributing to Italy’s triumph at the European Team Championships (third in the 800 in Madrid), in the Universiade roll of honors she picks up the legacy of the other Italian Laura Pellicoro, who had won in 2023.
The third gold bears the signature of Vittoria Fontana with a thrilling comeback in the 200 meters: 22.79 (+0.1) was the chrono to improve by eighteen hundredths after three years, overtaking Switzerland’s Léonie Pointet, defeated in 22.81. There is all the grit and desire to re-emerge of the Carabinieri sprinter in the final sprint in which she leaves behind the physical problems that have held her back in the past two seasons. A youth talent (European U20 champion of the 100 in 2019) and already Italian record holder of the 4×100, now the Varese woman shows that she is back stronger than before and becomes the fourth Italian national of all times on the distance. A thick result not only at the individual level, but also in perspective for the relay ahead of the World Championships. Dalia Kaddari (Fiamme Oro) came close to a medal, fourth in 23.04 just one hundredth behind bronze medalist Esperança Cladera of Spain (23.03). In the intermediate round, two and a half hours earlier, the Italian women had won their own semifinal: Fontana 23.22 (-1.4) and Kaddari 23.38 (-1.5). For the third time, Italy won the title in the women’s 200 at this event after Giuseppina Leone in 1959 and Irene Siragusa in 2017.
It is on the podium Riccardo Ferrara (Carabinieri), bronze in the weight with a throw of 19.91 that had propelled him to the lead in the fourth round of the competition. Then the Calabrian returned to third place, overtaken in the fifth round by China’s Xing Jialiang (20.08 for silver) and at the last also by South Africa’s Aiden Smith who grabbed gold with 20.25. Sixth in the high Manuel Lando (Aeronautica) with 2.20 on the second attempt, three errors instead at 2.23 narrowly missing on the last attempt. In the morning session of day four, Giovanni Frattini (Carabinieri, 74.97) qualified for the javelin final. A +2.5 wind pushed Elena Carraro (Fiamme Gialle) to 12.90 in the battery in the 100 hurdles: she is semifinalist with the second fastest time overall.
