European Athletics Championsips in Rome - Day 4 (01-06-2024)

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With the weekend over, I have to face the rush-hour traffic again. So I arrive a little late: there is again a queue at the first entrance, but on the other hand there were so few people at the turnstiles that I feared they were closed. I had hoped to see at least the last heat of the decathlon's 10 , but nothing: I arrive that only the men's pole vault and the women's javelin qualifiers are in progress. I move towards the centre of the straight, so that I can see better not only the pole, but then also the decathlon's long jump and shot put. To my right, and almost to the end of the grandstand, is a large group of Estonians, chanting stadium choruses in honour of decathlete Oiglane and hurdler Magi. Many Germans and a few Frenchmen can also be seen, as well as the usual Britons, Swiss and Finns. Italians are almost hard to find this time, I don't see any near me. Surely, on a Monday morning, only those who would have been there even if these championships had been in Helsinki or Seville are present (and for a Monday morning they are not even very few).

In the pole vault and javelin, the trend of much of the morning is beginning to show: we seem to be going back a few years, with poor performances by Italians to which we were no longer accustomed. Disastrous was Botter in the javelin, with a qualification that would not have been impossible for her. In the pole vault, both Stecchi and Bertelli came out at 5.45, with the former making only one real jump in two heights. At 5.45 there are already a few illustrious victims, such as Sobera and the Polish former world champion whose name I will avoid writing down, at 5.60 after two attempts there are less than 12 to clear it, so it is clear that she will not go further (it had to be 5.75): in fact there are 13 left and it ends here. Duplantis makes only one jump, at 5.60, during a track competition, so hardly anyone notices (certainly not me), perhaps only those who came just for him. There is also the decathlon's LJ, and this time I can also see the jump-off and landing well, so I see that Dester always jumps off very far and does not go beyond 7.32. First Rooth with 8.01.

The track events start with the women's 200, where Siragusa makes a good run. This is followed by the men's 1500, where the Italians all pass and Meslek is good at dodging a massive fall. Then come the women's 800, and here are the other disappointments: then Coiro loses third place, the last for direct qualification, and it is immediately clear that the heat is slow and has no hope of repechage, then Bellò goes off in the final straight and finishes behind.

But then, fortunately, there are the 400 hurdles, first men's, then women's, and there the music changes. From my position, when they pass through the straight in front of me, the athlete in lane 9 I cannot see, of the one in lane 8 I can only see the head, of the one in lane 7 half, only up to lane 5 do I see everything. And five of the six Italians were in lanes 7 and up, even Warholm was in lane 8, at least Bol was in lane 5. Warholm won without effort and at the finish line he sang ‘O sole mio’, then came Sibilio's turn, and he was truly monstrous: he arrived in the final straight with a clear lead and seemed to be strolling, looking left and right, only in the final he accelerated a little to be sure of first place. Despite everything, he does 48.07! He is asked to sing ‘O sole mio’ too, he tries to evade it by declaring himself from Bolzano, but then sings it, embarrassed.

 

Among the women, Folorunso finishes third, but from her time, 54.52, it was clear that she would be repechaged, and so she is. Then Olivieri arrives in the group, but she too drops below 55’ (54.99). Muraro, who recovers in the final straight and gets to second place, then finishes third with 54.73, and is out by 7/100. In these two races alone, the Italians made two personal bests and two season's bests: and to think that there was a time not so long ago when they made one personal best and three season's bests in an entire event (track and field events). Hard to believe today.

When the track events finish, there are still a few shot puts in the decathlon. Normally in such cases the stadium would empty out, but not here, because many are here for the multiple events. The Italians finish in the last two places and in the overall ranking Naidon is last, Dester 19th out of 24. Here, however, we cannot say that we seem to have gone backwards, because once upon a time they did not even qualify.

At lunch, in a Sicilian restaurant, I meet a group of Estonians and also around Rome one sees many people here for the European Championships. I return to the stadium area at around 7.30 p.m.: this time we enter quickly at the pre-filtering and at the gates. I look for the merchandising shop in the fan zone, but I can't find it, and yet I thought I had seen it the other days, and above all it seems impossible that there isn't one. There is however one inside the stadium: I buy a T-shirt and cap. At the entrances and in the bars they speak to you in English, by now they are used to Italians being a minority. To make it clearer that I am Italian I paint my cheeks.

 I enter the stadium that the decathlon's high jump is underway: one group is at 1.96 and the other at 1.87. Imagining that there will be few people (but I feared worse), I don't go to my place, but two blocks further in the middle: around me there are mostly Norwegians and Germans. Twice I have to move because the seat holder arrives, but I don't want to go to mine, which is too isolated: I only move one block. To my right, for several rows, almost only Swiss, behind me a group of British. Towards the end of the straight (pole area) the Finnish flags look more than usual. At the hammer and the women's 400, many Polish flags can also be seen,

 I struggle to understand the situation in the high jump, as the scoreboard gives the overall result of the pools and, of course, those in the weakest pool are always behind, while the site is down and will remain so for quite a while. In the strong pool there is already selection at 1.99: Meyer and Kaul, among others, go out and 7 remain, at 2.02 Naidon goes out and 5 remain, including Skotheim who has passed, at 2.05 there are 2, in the end Skotheim wins with 2.17. In the weak Dester struggles to 1.93, but then clears1.96 on first, 1.99 on second and 2.02 again on first. Skotheim takes the lead, Dester 16th.

The first final is the women's pole vault, and here I understand even less. At 4.58 there are 7 left, including Molinarolo and Bruni, the only ones not to have cleared them on first. At 4.68 I am convinced that only Stefanidi and Cadbury are left, until I see Moser clear 4.78, which is the measure of victory. I later find out that she had also cleared 4.68 onsecond and had moved to 4.78 after a fault at 4.73.

 

Before the start of the track events I go to get some food, and this time I do it quickly, there is hardly anyone there. The track events start with the semi-finals of the women's 200: Kaddari hides behind Neita in the bend, but then in the straight she gives in and finishes fifth with 22.98. One entered the final with 22.84, it was not impossible, We then come to the first Italian hope: the men's 400. Sito remained in the fight for first place until the final straight, then 50-60 metres from the end he began to run strangely, so much so that I thought he had hurt himself and would retire. Instead he finishes fifth in 45.04. From his interview and a similar situation in the women's race I understand that he had just packed it in. He says ‘I'm not looking for excuses’, so I do it for him: the first three (but not the fourth) had all been exempted from the first round.

 

Meanwhile, the last field event, the women's hammer, began. Fantini, who throws first, is third after the first throw, but on the second she takes the lead. On the fourth she is overtaken first by Frenchwoman Loga, who was seventh, then by the multiple Polish champion, whose name you will understand if I do not write it down, but she takes the lead again, and this time by more than a metre: 77.14. The pole vault ends while the hammer is still in the fourth round, so you can follow it closely. In the last two rounds, the situation remains unchanged: Fantini gold, Italian and Polish flags are mixed in the celebrations.

Meanwhile, the track races continue with the men's 3000 steeplechase. As the race is tactical Ossama Zoglhami goes into a breakaway on the third lap. The announcer compares him to Panetta, but Panetta was able to keep an unsustainable pace for everyone else, he is not. They catch him at the beginning of the last lap: at first he seems to react, but then he finishes eighth. The 400 decathlon followed: Dester was placed in the weakest heat, dominated it, but with 48.43, far from his personal best, Naidon competes in the middle heat and finished last. The day ended with Skotheim leading, Dester 12th and Naidon 19th (out of 23).

With the hammer also finished, we come to the main event, the final of the men's 200. At the entrance to the straight, Tortu and Desalu also dream of a one-two finish. Yes, there is a Swiss ahead front, a certain Mumenthaler, but I am sure that Tortu will catch him. Instead the Swiss wins, in what is surely the biggest surprise of these championships so far, Tortu despairs, also because of the time: it was won in 20.38 and he came second in 20.41. With the time with which he had finished third two years ago, he would have won, with the one with which Desalu had finished sixth in 2018, he would have won widely (it was 20.13)-

It ends up that Italians and Swiss leave the stadium in shock, for opposite reasons. And tomorrow is the longest day, where there is also Gimbo.

European Athletics Championsips in Rome - Day 6 (12-06-2024)

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For this final evening, I had also planned to see the medal ceremonies before the races, only I have to deal with the evening rush hour traffic, which is even worse than the morning one. So I arrive in the stadium area, and passing by I meet a few athletes as they get off the bus, while the Spanish anthem is heard: so it's tiome of the TJ medal ceremony, which means that I can at most hope to see the last one, that of Gimbo. At the entrance I find a queue that I have never seen before and which, I repeat, you don't find for football matches, but then they open another entrance and it flows quite quickly. I then enter that they are playing the Italian anthem and I barely make it in time to see the finale of the high jump medal ceremony.

Tamberi stands in the square, surrounded by a huge crowd. There is also a French medallist, I think Gogois (triple) posing with the public, I assume that everyone is going towards the turnstiles and so there will be a queue and I think to let some time pass, but then I think that it could be worse later. The queue at the turnstiles is long and it creates a lot of nervousness. The problem is the usual: there is a turnstile that doesn't work properly (of course the one where I am queuing) and no one provides assistance. I too have to make 4-5 attempts to scan my ticket.

 I enter after 25 minutes in the queue. Inside the stadium, I see fewer people than I expected, given the crowd outside: my block is almost empty, while there are more people towards the middle of the stand. I'm tempted to move, seeing that the highlight is all on the other side (pole vault, landing of long jump), but I think it might fill up, and indeed it does : the Tevere will be even fuller than yesterday, the North terrace is almost full, there are a lot of people even in the South terrace and in the finish area of Monte Mario, much less in the rest of the stadium, which however is not as deserted as on other days. There are fewer foreigners than usual: there are a few Belgians, including one behind me, the usual Britons and Norwegians, Irish, especially in the Monte Mario and many French, especially in the terraces, while there seem to be fewer Fiins and Swiss than usual, especially the Swiss, who will anyway be noticed when they have athletes involved.

When I come in, the B-race of the 10,000 is underway and the PV has already started: they are at the first height, 5.35. The race will be won by a Spaniard in 28'24", so the top athletes will have room to race tactically, fifth and sixth two Italians. Shortly afterwards the men's javelin starts: after a couple of throws around 80 metres, Weber does 85.94 and from there I realise that the second tape is not at 85 metres as I thought, but at 90. A race of an average level a little higher than on other occasions, to get into the eight you need more than 81 metres, and also balanced: after the first three throws first three in just over a metre, first eight in 4 metres. A very exciting second half is expected, but nothing happens until the sixth round, when Vadlejch goes close to the 90-metre tape (88.65) and wins

 And we come to the only field event with Italians, the women's long jump. From my position I am absolutely unable to assess the measure, the only way to get an idea is from the reaction of the crowd in the landing zone, and from this you can tell that Iaspichino's first jump is good: in fact it is 6.82. Mihambo kills the competition with a 7.22 in the first jump, but few people realise this at the time (I am among them) as the measure appears on the scoreboard during a track race. Iapichino then improves to 6.84, but after the third jump she is fifth, in a race where with 6.80 one is seventh and with 6.68 is out of the eight. Her jumps continue to arouse positive reactions from the spectators in the area and in fact on the fourth jump she does 6.86, but remains fifth, on the fifth she does 6.90, and is fourth, one centimetre from bronze and silver, on the sixth she does 6.94 and is second. They celebrate by singing the Seven Nations' Army, but it is not over. When German Assani, the last one standing between Iapichino and a medal, jumps, the speaker asks people to clap for her too, but many are not convinced. Eventually many do, although less than for the others. Neither she nor Portugal's De Sousa improve, so silver remains.

It was not, however, the first medal of the day, as in the meantime the track events had begun and we had won another, We had started with the women's 4X400. with the Netherlands leading at the end of the third leg and so the race seemed to be over, with Bol in the anchor leg Instead, Ireland stuck to it and in the final almost seemed to challenge it her. Belgium and Italy followed, coming in 1" behind the Netherlands and setting yet another Italian record: 3:23.40. Moving on to the men's event: Italy was missing Sibilio, his replacement Meli would later say in the interview that he had heard about it ten minutes before. In the first leg Sito remains attached to Sacoor, in the second we take advantage of the weakest leg of Belgium and change in the lead, in the third Belgium is again first, but we remain attached, in the fourth Doom slowly makes the gap and in the final Scotti is challenged by the German, but seems to resist, and so it is: silver by 1/100. The gap to Belgium is 97/100, so probably with Sibilio we would have won.

The two races without Italians followed. First the women's 800, with Hodgkinson leading from start to finish, but at a pace that was not prohibitive, so much so that she won by just 19/100. Then the A-race  of the men's 10,000: the scoreboard did not warn that Crippa and Riva had dropped out and even the announcer only said so after the start. Nevertheless, for a while the scoreboard will give Crippa in eighth place. Very slow start; for 2 km they stayed above 3' per km, then they accelerated a little, but not much, so much so that at the halfway point they were all still in a group and at the ninth km they were still more than half. Final sprint: the Swiss Lobalu wins in 28'.

 

Meanwhile, the pole vault race continues, and everything suggests that it will continue even after the end of the track events. At 5.82 there are still 9 competitors: only Duplantis clears them on first, with his usual disarming ease. Four will make it on second, but I will only see one, Karalis. At 5.87 Duplantis passes and only Karalis clears them (and I miss it again).

We come to the last individual race: 1500. Ingebritsen takes the lead at 600, but he only makes the gap in the final straight, where Arese makes his way up to third place, between two Belgians. It's 23 medals! The two 4X100 remain: in the women's race, Great Britain got off to a strong start with Asher-Smith: victory is never in doubt, although France remains close. The Netherlands and Switzerland fighrt it out for bronze: the former wins, but Switzerland will be later disqualified. Bronze at 42.46, so it would have been difficult but not impossible for Italy. And we are at the grand final: the men's 4X100. Italy is in  lane 8, so I understand that I will not see Jacobs' leg (to be exact, I will only see his head). Melluzzo seems to be off to a good start, but that could be because he only has Greece before him, then when Jacobs comes back into view the lead is already clear, and it will be huge at the start of the final straight, where Tortu increases it again, closing in 37.82. The European Athletics Championships therefore end like the swimming ones, with a relay where Italy starts as the big favourite and dominates.

Actually, the races are not over yet: there are still Karalis and Duplantis in the pole vault. In the meantime, there is another one of those idiotic games that have plagued us during the week, especially in the morning sessions: spectators with deformed faces are framed so as to make them look desperate. Duplantis clears 5.92, then 5.97, a height that is starting to be just barely challenging for him, while Karalis makes an attempt at 5.92, one at 5.97 and one at 6.02, always going very far from cleariing them.

 As the race is decided, I decide to go and not stop for the Swede's record attempts, as tomorrow is a working day (the disadvantages of having the events at home). On the way out I see that the  medal ceremonies have started regularly, the women's 4X400 is underway. I go out with the usual sense of emptiness that comes at the end of an event, but thinking that there are only 45 days to go before leaving for the Olympics

Campionati Europei di atletica a Roma - 6^ giornata (12-06-2024)

 Per questa serata finale, avevo in programma di vedere anche le premiazioni prima delle gare, solo che devo affrontare il traffico dell'ora di punta serale, che è anche peggio di quello mattutino. Arrivo quindi in zona stadio, e passando incontro alcuni atleti mentre scendono dal pullman, mentre si sente l'inno spagnolo: sono quindi alla premiazione del triplo, il che vuol dire che posso al massino sperare di vedere l'ultima, quella di Gimbo. All'ingresso trovo una coda mai vista e che, ribadisco, non si trova per le partite di calcio, ma poi aprono un altro ingresso e scorre abbastanza rapidamente. Entro quindi che stanno suonando l'inno italiano e faccio appena in tempo a vedere il finale della premiazione dell'alto.

Tamberi si ferma nel piazzale, attorniato da una folla enorme. C'è anche una francese medagliato, credo Gogois (triplo) che posa col pubblico, Suppongo che tutti andranno verso i tornelli e quindi si creerà coda e panso di lasciar passare un po' di tempo, ma poi penso che dopo potrebbe essere peggio. La coda ai tornelli è lunga e si crea molto nervosismo. Il problema è il solito: c'è un tornello che non funziona bene (naturalmente quello dove sono in coda io) e nessuno fornisce assistenza. Anch'io dovrò fare 4-5 tentativi per passare il biglietto.

Entro dopo 25 minuti di coda. All'interno dello stadio, vedo meno gente di quanta me ne aspettassi, vista la ressa fuori: il mio settore è quasi vuoto, mentre c'è più gente verso il centro della tribuna. Sono tentato di spostarmi, visto che il clou è tutto dall'altro lato (asta, atterraggio del lungo), ma penso che potrebbe riempirsi, E infatti si riempie: la Tevere sarà anche più piena di ieri, la curva Nord è quasi piena, c'è molta gente anche in curva sud e nella zona arrivi della Monte Mario, molto meno nel resto dello stadio, che comunque non è deserto come gli altri giorni. Gli stranieri sono meno del solito: ci sono un po' di belgi, tra cui uno dietro di me, i soliti britannici e norvegesi, irlandesi soprattutto nella Monte Mario e molti francesi, soprattutto nelle curve, mentre sembrano meno del solito soprattutto gli svizzeri, che pure si noteranno quando avranno atleti coinvolti.

Quando entro è in corso la seconda serie dei 10.000 ed è già cominciata anche l'asta: sono alla prima quota, 5,35. La serie sarà vinta da uno spagnolo in 28'24", quindi i big avranno spazio per fare gara tattica, Quinto e sesto due italiani. Poco dopo parte il, giavellotto maschile: dopo un paio di lanci intorno agli 80 metri, Weber fa 85,94 e da lì capisco che la seconda fettuccia non è a 85 metri come pensavo, ma a 90. Gatra di livello medio un po' più alto che in altre occasioni, per entrare negli 8 ci vogliono più di 81 metri, e anche equilibrata: dopo i primi tre lanci primi tre in poco più di un metro, primi otto in 4 metri. Si prospetta una seconda parte molto emozionante, invece non succede niente fino al sesto turno, quando Vadlejch andrà vicino alla fettuccia dei 90 (88,65) e vincerà

E si arriva all'unico concorso con italiani, il lungo donne. Dalla mia posizione non sono assolutamente in grado di valutare la misura, l'unico modo per avere un'idea è dalla reazione del pubblico in zona atterraggio, e da questa si capisce che il primo salto della Iaspichino è buono: infatti è 6,82. La Mihambo uccide la gara con un 7,22 al primo salto, ma al momento sono in pochi ad accorgersene (io sono tra questi) in quanto la misura compare sul tabellone durante una gara su pista. La Iapichino si migliora poi a 6,84, ma dopo il terzo salto è quinta, in una gara dove con 6,80 si è settima e con 6,68 si è fuori dalle 8. I suoi salti continuano a suscitare reazioni positive dal pubblico in zona e infatti al quarto fa 6,86, ma rimane quinta, al quinto fa 6,90, ed è quarta a un centimetro dal bronzo e dall'argento, al sesto fa 6,94 ed è seconda. Si festeggia cantando il Seven Nations' Army, ma non è finita. Quando salta la tedesca Assani, l'ultima che rimane tra la Iapichino e una medaglia, lo speaker chiede di battere le mani anche per lei, ma molti non sono convinti. Alla fine molti lo fanno, anche se meno che per le altre, Né lei, né la portoghese De Sousa si migliorano, quindi l'argento rimane.

Non era però la prima medaglia della giornata, in quanto nel frattempo erano cominciate le gare su pista e ne avevamo vinta un'altra, Si era partiti con la 4X400 donne. con l'Olanda in testa alla fine  della terza frazione e quindi gara che sembrava finita, essendoci la Bol. Invece l'Irlanda le rimane attaccata e  nel finale sembra quasi insidiarla. Seguono il Belgio e l'Italia, che arriva a 1" dall'Olanda e fa l'ennesimo record italiano: 3:23.40. Si passa a quella maschile: nell'Italia manca Sibilio, il suo sostituto Meli dirà poi nell'intervista che l'aveva saputo dieci minuti prima. In prima frazione Sito rimane attaccato a Sacoor nella seconda approfittiamo della frazione più debole del Belgio e cambiamo in terza, nella terza il Belgio è di nuovo primo, ma noi rimaniamo attaccati, nella quarta Doom pian piano fa il vuoto e nel finale Scotti viene insidiato dal tedesco, ma sembra resistere, e così è: argento per 1/100. Il distacco dal Belgio è 97/100, quindi probabilmente con Sibilio avremmo vinto.

Seguono le due gare senza italiani. Prima gli 800 femminili, con la Hodgkinson in testa dall'inizio alla fine, ma a un ritmo non proibitivo, tanto che vincerà per soli 19/100. Poi la prima serie dei 10.000 maschili: il tabellone non avvisa che Crippa e Riva hanno rinunciato e anche lo speaker lo dirà solo dopo la partenza. Ciò nonostante, per un po' il tabellone darà Crippa all'ottavo posto. Partenza lentissima; per 2 km si rimane sopra i 3' al km, poi si accelera un po', ma non molto, tanto che a metà gara sono ancora tutti in gruppo e al nono km lo sono ancora più della metà. Volatona finale: vince lo svizzero Lobalu in 28'.

Intanto prosegue la gara dell'asta, e tutto fa pensare che proseguirà anche dopo la fine delle gare su pista. A 5,82 sono ancora in 9: solo Duplantis li supera alla prima, con la solita disarmante facilità. In 4 ce la faranno invece alla seconda, ma io ne vedrò solo uno, Karalis. A 5,87 Duplantis passa e solo Karalis li supera (e io me lo perdo ancora).

Si arriva all'ultima gara individuale: i 1500. Ingebritsen va in testa ai 600, ma fa il vuoto solo nel rettilineo finale, dove Arese si fa largo fino al terzo posto, fra due belgi. E fanno 23 medaglie, Rimangono le due 4X100: in quella femminile la Gran Bretagna parte forte con la Asher-Smith e la vittoria non è mai in discussione, anche se la Francia rimane vicina. Per il bronzo lottano Olanda e Svizzera: vince la prima, ma la Svizzera sarà poi squalificata. Bronzo a 42.46, quindi per l'Italia sarebbe stato difficile, ma non impossibile. E siamo al gran finale: la 4X100 maschile. L'Italia è in ottava corsia, quindi capisco che non vedrò la frazione di Jacobs (per l'esattezza, vedrò solo la testa). Melluzzo sembra partire bene, ma potrebbe dipendere dal fatto che davanti ha solo la Grecia, poi quando Jacobs torna visibile il vantaggio è già netto, e sarà enorme all'inizio del rettilineo finale, dove Tortu l'aumenta ancora, chiudendo. Gli Europei di atletica finiscono quindi come quelli di nuoto, con una staffetta dove l'Italia parte da grande favorita e domina.

In realtà le gare non sono ancora finite: ci sono ancora Karalis e Duplantis nell'asta. Nell'attesa, c'è un altro di quei giochi scemi che ci hanno ammorbato in settimana, soprattutto nelle sessioni mattutine: si inquadrano spettatori con facce deformate in modo da farle sembrare disperate. Duplantis supera 5,92, poi 5,97, quota che comincia a essere appena appena impegnativa per lui, mentre Karalis fa un tentativo a 5,92, uno a 5,97 e uno a 6,02, andando sempre molto lontano dal superarli. 

Decisa la gara, decido di andare e non fermarmi per i tentativi di record dello svedese, visto che domani è un giorno lavorativo (gli svantaggi di avere le manifestazioni in casa). Uscendo vedo che sono regolarmente cominciate le premiazioni, è in corso quella dalla 4X400 donne. Vado col solito senso di vuoto che prende alla fine di una manifestazione, ma pensando che mancano solo 45 giorni alla partenza per le Olimpiadi

European Athletics Championsips in Rome - Day 5 (11-06-2024)

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Today, too, we have to start from the bottom, because you just can't not start with Gimbo. What more can we say about him? He won another title, on a great measure, but this time he thrilled more with his faults than with his successful jumps. In fact, he made a competition interesting that would have been a monologue with a Tamberi in a better shape.

 The race had started at 2.17, but he had entered the competition at 2.22, without charging the crowd for the first jump (he had done so for Lando instead) and easily cleared them. Six had cleared them on their first attempt, including the three Italians, and there were the first exits, including the German winner in 2018 (I hope you'll understand if I don't write down the name). At 2.26, the first fault: he shits the bar with his heel, while two, both Ukrainians, clear them on first. At 2.29 he misses the first two attempts badly, while the Ukrainian Lavskyy is the only one to make it. On the third he makes it, not even by that much, and two are left. At 2.31 the Tamberi we know is back: he clears them with a margin, while Lavskyy after his first fault saves two attempts at 2.33. They both missed 2.33 twice, but Lavskyy seemed to get closer, Tamberi won: he celebrated with the terrace, but then asked for 2.34 for his last remaining attempt. He clears them, but comes back limping, so there's a moment of panic, fearing he'll end up like in 2016. Instead, he celebrates and even asks to continue. He asks for 2.37 and widely clears it. He celebrates by going to the grandstand to embrace Mattarella, Mei and Malagò, then he even comes to our side, on the raised platforms

 In the morning, I had planned to miss a few races: I just couldn't get up in time to arrive at 9.35 a.m. At the umpteenth traffic jam, however, I feared I would not even make it to see the relays. Fortunately, parking and entrance (both pre-filtering and turnstiles) are quick, so I get in a little after 10.35: the women's long jump qualification has just started and they are announcing Iapichino's qualification in the first jump with 6.71. The qualifying mark is 6.70: 8 will hit it. Mihambo immediately shoots 7.03 (and I don't see it). The first pool of the decathlon is also underway: Dester, on the rise, reaches 41 metres and is tenth out of 13, Naidon is last, Meyer first. In the second pool Kaul in the third surpasses everyone with 49.89.

I settle towards the centre of the grandstand. Around me mostly British, to my left Norwegians, to my right Swiss and, further on, Finns. Below, Estonians, Swedes and even a Czech flag can be seen. Here and there in the stands, also quite a few Germans. When I move up a couple of rows, I meet my World Championship chair neighbour from Budapest again. As usual, only the Tevere stand is quite full (for a morning session), then there are a few people in the terraces, more in the South than in the North one, and in the Monte Mario finish area, the rest of the stadium is deserted.

 One sees perhaps more Swiss flags than Italian ones. The Italian supporters are mainly represented by a group of school kids in the south terrace: without them, you wouldn't even realise you were in Italy (besides, after five full days, the risk of not even remembering where we are exists). You wouldn't realise we were in Italy even from the scoreboard: it's the first time I've seen a scoreboard that always gives the results only in English (excluding English-speaking countries, of course). The public, however, applauds everyone: Bulgarian Mitkovse's qualification in the long jump was warmly welcomed even if no Bulgarians are seen.

After I missed the 110hs of the decathlon, with yet another mess of the starter, and the semifinals of the women's 800, the track events resume with the relay batteries. We start with the men's 4X400: Italy is in the first without Sito and Sibilio (in addition to the injured Re) finishes second with a time that, for a long time, we could not do even with all the best  (3:02.06). The second is faster: with Italy's time one would have finished seventh, followed by the 4X400 women: in the first one the Netherlands grabbed the third place in extremis, the last one good for qualification (from fourth it would not have been repechaged), the second one ended with a sprint to 5, of which Italy was last, but from the time of the first one it was immediately clear that it would have been repechaged, and so it is.

We move on to the 4X100. First the men's, then the women's. I had tried to go upwards, but still I hardly see the second leg of the outer 3-4 lanes. In the first, Great Britain makes the last changeover wrong and finishes last in 39.60. And to say that 39.10 was enough to pass! In the second, Italy controls and comes second in 38.40. In the interview, Simonelli shouts a ‘Daje’ that echoes throughout the stadium. In the women's event, Italy is in the first heat (and I risk missing it to get a drink, I thought I had more time). I see that it loses ground in the third leg and I think she made a mistake in the changeover (I didn't see, I was too far away): I will find out later that Kaddari had hurt herself, the problems in the changeover were a consequence, it still comes in fourth with 43.27 and comparing it with the men's results, I think it's enough, but no: in the other heat the fifth does 43.15 and we are out. It seems incredible to me, but then I think that not so long ago we would have been content even to send 2 out of 4 relays into the final.

 

Once the track events are over, many people leave, but less than on other occasions. Mostly the British leave, the Germans, Estonians and a few Italians (but not the kids) remain. The first pool of the decathlon pole vault is underway, then the second pool and the two pool of the javelin qualifiers remain. The pole vault pools are staggered, as has been the custom for a few years now. The two platforms placed side by side give some strange visual effects, both when there is warm-up in one and when both competitions are underway: sometimes it seems as if they are raising or lowering the bar while one is vaulting (of course it is the other pool's). The first pool starts at 4.40 and already Skotheim risks the 0, as will happen later to Meyer at 5.00 and, in the other pool, to Kaul at 4.70. At 5.00, both Italians come out, after having given the impression that they could make it, and 5 are left. It will end at 5.30, with Meyer clearingv and retiring. Meanwhile, there was the first pool of the javelin: season's leader Dehning opens with less than 75 metres, then improves, but remains the last of the qualifiers. The qualification is at 82 metres and 4 in the first pool and 3 in the second will hit it.

After the end the first pole vault pool, I thought I would consider whether to leave or not. At 2.35 p.m. the second pool of the javelin starts and I thought maybe I would only see the first round. Instead I go on, both to follow the second pool of the pole vault and to see if there are any excellent eliminations. When Weber, in the third round, does 85.01 and gets out of the way (he was 12th at the time) and in the PV there are 4 left at 4.90 I decide to go. There are so few throws left that I think I could see them through to the end at this point, but I'm too tired and hungry,

 I had thought of skipping the first pool of the javelin in the decathlon, the first field event of the evening, but when I read that the best would be there I wanted to try to watch at least some of it. However, I arrived at the stadium at around 7.30 p.m., and as soon as I had passed the first gate, I discovered that it was over. In the medal plaza I see some members of the national team staff, such as Vizzoni, with someone who looks like Folorunso to me, but it seems strange to me that she is there, since she has the race in the evening. Seeing her in the race, I confirm that it was her. After the turnstiles, I decide to get some food: there is a queue, but I fear it will be worse later.

I arrive at my place that Dester is throwing, and he throws very long: 63.17, which he later improves to 63.66, clearly first in the group and fourth overall. When the announcer says that he is seventh overall, I think I have misunderstood, it seems impossible to me that he has recovered so much, but it is true. My row is already full for a good part, and it will fill up even more. The blocks towards the centre of the Tevere are even fuller. The South terrace is full, of course, the one that is open, because the rows further up are closed. There were few people in the rest of the stadium, and even in the Monte Mario grandstand there seemed to be fewer than usual. This time the Italians are definitely predominant, then next to me there are two Belgians, in the area we see Britons and Norwegians. When their athletes win, Estonians and Swiss will be noticed, who in any case seemed less than usual.

  Before the start of the high jump, Mattarella arrives and the national anthem is played. Shortly after the high jump, another top-level competition begins: the men's triple jump. As on the other occasions, from my position one can get an idea of the measurement by looking at where he arrives with the step, and immediately Pichardo seems to be in danger of finishing in the box: it is 17.48, it seemed more, so much so that Diaz Fortun overtakes him with 17.52, On the second jump Pichardo seems even more to finish in the box with the step: 18.04. Diaz gradually got closer, but caught up in the hHJigh and track events, we did not notice him so much. Until on the Spaniard's fifth attempt we hear a roar from the landing area, and we realise that he has done something big: 18.18! in two over 18 metres.

 There was another field event, the women's javelin, but hardly anyone noticed, except, I imagine, those from the countries of the athletes involved. When the high jump finishes, it is in the fifth round, so I hope I will follow it more, instead I just watch a few throws, none of them decisive. The Austrian Hudson wins. The track events begin with the men's 400 hurdles. Sibilio is in lane seven, Warholm in eight, so I realise that I will not see them when they pass into the straight on my side. We arrive at the final straight with Warholm with a huge lead and Sibilio already clearly second. Then Sibilio seems to get closer, but the lead is too wide After the last hurdle for a moment I hope for a miracle, ms no, the gap is just too wide. Warholm does 46.99, so it becomes clear that Sibilio has set the Italian record, and in fact it is 47.50. In the women's race, at the entrance to the straight there is much more of a gap between Bol and second than between second and last, so one can still hope that Folorunso, who had started slowly, will get into the medal fight. Instead she finishes fifth.

Then there is the women's 10000 (and even there they have problems at the start). A leading group of 8 formed immediately, including 3 Italians and 3 British, at mid-race there were 5 left, at the 7th km there were 3: Battocletti, the Briton Keith and the Dutch Van Es. In the last two km there were many lapping (it seems to me that at the end there were 6 left unlapped), so that it was difficult to understand which was the leading group. However, Battocletti and the Dutchwoman arrive at 500 metres: the woman from Trentino starts and immediately takes an unbridgeable lead: after the 5000. she also wins the 10000.

 Next, the epilogue of the decathlon The announcer announced that Dester had to do 4'25’ for the Italian record. It seems very difficult, but he does it: 4'23"! He finished sixth with 8235 points, Estonia's Erm maintained first place, while Meyer, who after the pole vault and javelin seemed likely to fight for victory, gave in and finished fifth. We finish with the women's 200, with the Neita-Kambundji duel. In the final, the Swiss made the breakthrough and won by 1/100.

The spectators rush out, while the speaker reminds them of the medal plaza. The medal table says 20 medals Italy, 11 the second country France. How would someone have been treated who predicted this eight years ago?