European Youth Olympic Festival, Azzurri protagonists

The young Italy of athletics continues its stupendous ride at the European Youth Olympic Festival, dedicated to the under-18s (2008-2009). On the fifth day in Skopje (North Macedonia) come five more medals, three of which are gold: extraordinary hurdles with Diego Mancini (400hs) and Alessia Succo (100hs), both dominating with the best Italian U18 performance and both in the top levels of the European all-time lists, Mancini in second place with 50.01 and Succo in third with 13.04 (+0.1). The two azzurrini also land in the world U18 top ten all-time at ninth place. Gold also for Margherita Castellani who conquered the 200 meters with a personal best of 23.23 (+0.2), silver in the discus for Mattia Bartolini with a PB of 61.86 and for Valentina Adamo in the 5000 track march (23:22.76). Never in the history of the Eyof (this is the 18th edition) had so many gold medals been won, 6 so far, combined with 5 silvers. And it’s not over yet, because on the last day, Saturday, more podiums can be aimed for.

Fifty seconds flat in the 400 hurdles, or thereabouts. These are superlative progresses those of Diego Mancini (Studentesca Milardi Rieti) who, after the title with the mixed relay, repeats the gold in his specialty, of which he now represents the excellence of Europe: in history, only the Czech Michal Rada went faster (49.42) in the Eurofinal in Banska Bystrica last year when the Roman was eighth. Twelve months later, Mancini has already taken off two and a half seconds (!) in the 84-centimeter barriers, all the way into the world top ten, thanks to this latest half-second leap forward from the 50.49 of the Rieti Tricolors. And without a smudge on the last hurdle, who knows, she might have even breached the fifty wall. It matters little: he is a gold medalist ahead of Turkey’s Oguzhan Yesilobaligil (50.40) and France’s Travis Collet (50.97).

A disarming ease among the 76-centimeter hurdles, another 9 cents subtracted from her personal best to bring it close to 13 seconds in a specialty in which, before her, no one in Italy had run less than 13.30. The cyclone Alessia Succo (Atl. Settimese) also hit Skopje, and to think that the Piedmontese is still in her first year of the category, so next season she will still be a student (with the U18 European Championships in Rieti at home), and in her sights she can put the 12.86 of the European record of Slovak Laura Frlickova. In the meantime, she enjoys the gold, achieved by gradually increasing the lead over Switzerland’s Sereina Liem (13.18) and Slovakia’s Nina Hejcikova (13.35).

The Umbrian Margherita Castellani (Atl. Arcs Cus Perugia), seventeen years old yet to be accomplished, legitimizes the title with a super personal best: the 23.23 (+0.2) run in the final at the Eyof brings her to the second place of the Italian lists not only among the under 18, her category of belonging, but also among the U20s, on a par with Dalia Kaddari. Only the almost peer Elisa Valensin, with 23.09 last season, has run a better time in the 200 meters, and what a wonder to think about how this new generation of blue sprinters is growing. Castellani is ahead of France’s Beatrice Tassin (23.51) and Sweden’s Jamilia Magaji Bernhardsson (23.56) and enriches her own trophy case after last year’s individual silver at last year’s European U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica combined with gold in the relay.

Never to be taken for granted the medals in the throws: what a satisfaction for the Tuscan Mattia Bartolini (Atl. Grosseto Banca Tema), silver with 61.86 in the discus (1.5 kg implement) and improved at the right time. He remained in the lead of the competition from the second to the penultimate throw, then he was overtaken by Latvian Toms Samauskis (62.52), which, however, did not detract from the excellent performance of the Italian, seasoned by two other throws over sixty meters (60.64, 60.36). It should be emphasized that this is the second youth medal in a few days in the discus, after last Sunday’s silver struck by Benedetta Benedetti at the U23 European Championships in Bergen. The march does not betray. The eleventh blue medal, the last of the day, is Valentina Adamo’s (Atl. Livorno) silver with a time of 23:22.76 in the 5,000 track march. She ran a race of her own against France’s Daphne Gateau Fernez (gold 22:49.08) while the Tuscan remained in the pack, formed a tandem with Greece’s Chara Gerou (bronze 23:34.98) and then pulled away from her. Finnish Ella Rautawaara’s comeback attempt is thwarted by disqualification.

Kelly Doualla, the European U18 record-holder in the 100 (11.21 Monday), returns to the track: together with Isabella Pastore, Laura Frattaroli and Margherita Castellani, she has no problem landing in the finals in the relay with increasing distances (100-200-300-400) with a time of 2:10.16. Tomorrow morning final, as well as for the men, today 1:54.34 due to the fractions of Filippo Vedana, Matteo Berardo, Juan Jose Caggia and Umed Caraccio. Seventh place for Enrico Galloni in the hammer (66.05). First five trials for Matteo Sorci in the decathlon: 11.06 (+0.2) in the 100, 7.00 (+0.5) in the long, 13.08 in the weight, 2.00 in the high jump and finally a remarkable 48.15 in the 400 to end the first day in the lead with 4038 points. In the high jump Sophie Barbagallo qualified for the finals with 1.76 on her first attempt.