Italian U16 Athletics Championships (07-10-2018)

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Last appointment of the season, unless you go to Buenos Aires. The program starts at 9.20, but my goal is to arrive for the first track final, the girls' 300, shortly after 9.50, considering that first there is the B. I make it just in time: I arrive at the stadium on the shot and I can see the final straight from the edge of the track. The rain is quite strong, although thin, and will last for most of the morning.

After the finish of 300, my son and I look for seats in the stands, making our way between backpacks and jackeis (someone also brought suitcases). We find them in the start area: next to us the team of Marche, below, the Liguria one. Common spectators seem very few. Obviously, given the weather, the stand opposite, uncovered, is almost empty.

I am in a good position for the two pole vault platforms, even if I don't see well the scoreboard of the left one. But I see that the left is at 2.40, the other at 2.20, so I understand that the left platform is the best one. Of the men's high jump, held on the other side, it is very difficult to understand something without looking at the Sigma platform, on the web: I also take time to understand what is the best platform (it's the one on the side of the main tribune). Moreover, I forgot my binocular, so I can not read the scoreboards, apart from the PV ones. High jump is also made more complicated by the slow progression (from 1.70, 2 cm at a time), so that no jumper tries all the heights: even when they remain in two will alternate until the epilogue at 1.94.

There is also the girls' javelin and in the final rounds, with fewer participants, I can follow it well. From my position I can also see the external platform, where the esathlon discus takes place. The first marker is 40 meters, apparently left since yesterday, but they all remain very far: the best is 34m, only 3 go beyond 30.

The track races continue with the boys' 300: Zunino starts very fast, so that the others seem to be in slow motion, then slows down a bit, but keeps a good margin. Then there are the A, B and C finals of the European sprint festival: it's a strange effect to see so young boys and girls with the national team shirt. French double: especially the winner of the boys' race is very impressive. Nice and fought the two finals of 300hs. We then move on to the 1200sc: one lap with two hurdles, two with four, with no water hazard. You see many athletes with serious problems on hurdles, especially on the last lap. I was planning to go after 1000, but there is a certain delay and I can only see the first boys' series.

The auction has a turning point at 3.00: 14 are left and they all try them, 7 succeeding and 7 not.  Nnanchi gives the impression of being the strongest, but often makes mistakes. Only one clears 3.20, Nnanchi passes after the first error, then clears 3.25. I miss it and then I fear I have missed the decisive jump, but fortunately she  repeats at 3.30, great jump.

The boys' javelin is left: it is scheduled at 11.20 and they are 27. Having to go around 12.30, I think that at most I will see the first 3 rounds. Instead they start almost an hour late, I think because of the overlap with HJ, where on the "weak" platform they go on quite a bit, among general disinterest, and at the end one finds out that the best went into third place. So I hope at least to see once favourite Cuciniello, who throws 14th, but I can only see the first 6. Cuciniello will then solve on the first throw, with 65 meters.

The cold is felt, so the time to go is a bit of a liberation. I think that in Doha I will have the opposite problem, but before Doha there are many interesting competitions, of different sports.