European Athletics Championships in Barcelona (2010)

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 The European Athletics Championships are returning to Rome after 50 years: the 1974 edition is the first I can remember. For me, it will be my seventh live, fifth consecutive one: I have covered Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022, and told my memories of Gothenburg 2006, Zurich 2014 and Amsterdam 2016. Helsinki 2012 is the only edition I skipped: that leaves Barcelona 2010.

I had combined the trip with a family holiday on the Costa Brava: I therefore watched the sessions from Tuesday to Saturday morning, then skipped Saturday afternoon to go to the seaside and returned for the last session on Sunday evening. I had an all-event ticket, in the second deck towards the end of the straight opposite the finish line. The ticket was still on paper, and at some point I had to have it replaced as it was ruined by rain. The stadium was relatively small for an Olympic stadium, you could see well everywhere.

On the first day, I arrived at the stadium when the competitions had started a while ago: I missed the women's 800 heats, with the surprising elimination of Cusma, who had done so well the year before in Berlin (only two rounds were scheduled). Another disappointment Chiara Rosa, who was second to last in the shot put. The first medal came with Meucci, bronze in 10,000. Two Italian athletes from that day will still be competing in Rome in addition to Meucci, there is also Fassinotti.

On the second day there was one of the events I remember best: the men's hammer, with Vizzoni redeeming himself for the bad luck of the year before and towards the beginning, I think at the second throw, he took second place with 79.12, maintaining it until the end. There were also semi-finals and finals of 100, with the victory of the favourite Lemaitre and two Italians in the final, which seemed like a great result at the time.

Of the third day, I remember above all the pole vault qualifications, with Gibilisco being the only one to finish without a fault, at least in his group (Lavillenie also made one), and I was already dreaming of reliving the emotions of Paris. There was also the men's triple jump, with yet another disappointment for Donato, who until the next edition in Helsinki was never competitive in the outdoor championships. There was also Greco, who did not even reach the final (the best Italian was Schembri, eighth).

On Friday there was the final of t400, with Grenot doing an excellent race, going close to her personal best: 50.43, which in the next three editions, two of which were won by Grenot herself, would have been enough for gold. In 2010, however, she finished fourth, behind three Russians. There was also the pole vault final, without Isinbayeva, which was won by Feofanova. Before going to the stadium I had seen the 50 km race walk on TV, which was being held in the city centre: I remember the commentator saying that it was looking bad for Olympic champion Schwazer, who in fact later withdrew. A few days earlier, again on TV, I had seen the South Tyrolean win silver in the 20 km.

On Saturday at the end of the morning session, I stayed for a long time at the stadium, with my family waiting for me to leave for the seaside, to see the finish of the women's marathon, with Incerti third behind a Lithuanian and a Russian. That afternoon, in the session I missed, there was Simona La Mantia's surprising silver in the triple jump and Gibilisco's fourth place in the pole vault. I went back to Barcelona with my son for the last evening. It was supposed to be Howe's night, who was fifth at half race with 8.12, but the podium was only 11 cm away, so I'm sure he'd make his mark in the final: he's done it so many times before... Instead he remains fifth with 8.12. I would never have imagined that in the rest of his career he would never do better, and only once would he go beyond 8 metres. The men's 4X100, on the other hand, was a positive surprise, finishing second to France in 38.17, beating the Italian record that dated back to the 1983 World Championships. The women's 4X400 also defended itself well, with 3:25.71, which, however, was not enough for the podium. There was also the women's high jump, without any Italians, where I hoped to see Hellebaut win again, the champion-secretary, as I called her because of her look, who had become my idol four years earlier: instead she came fifth, Vlasic won.

I spoke of the placings as I saw them, but if one looks at the standings now, one often finds them very different: Incerti won gold (passing through silver), as did Schwazer in the 20 km, while Grenot won bronze in both the individual and relay. There was even a fourth place for Romagnolo in the 5000, in a race that I don't remember at all, whereas if I had seen her finish fourth it would have been a great result: of the four who were later disqualified, I don't remember how many came before her, but I suppose all of them. It is known, unfortunately, that in athletics the standings remain provisional for 10 years.