English
ENTRIES AND TIMETABLE – FOTOGALLERY (Grana/FIDAL)
The countdown has begun. The world’s top athletics stars held their first official training session in Rome at the Stadio dei Marmi, in the unique atmosphere of the venue, two days ahead of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, scheduled for Thursday evening at the Stadio Olimpico.
Fans in attendance had the chance to see some of the main protagonists up close, including Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles and fellow sprinter Akani Simbine, shot putter Leonardo Fabbri, and pole vaulter Sandi Morris, to name just a few. It was a preview of the spectacle expected at the Italian stop of the Wanda Diamond League, with an atmosphere already befitting a major occasion.
On the road to a night of stars, the Stadio Olimpico is also preparing to host the Silver Gala on Wednesday, which this year will feature several Italian athletes. The spotlight is on the women’s 400m, featuring the entire Italian 4x400m team that recently secured qualification for next year’s World Championships in Beijing at the World Relays in Gaborone: from Alice Mangione and Alessandra Bonora, who later ran 51.49 and a personal best of 51.81 in Brussels, to Virginia Troiani and Rebecca Borga, who have recorded 52.35 and 52.36 this season.
There is also strong interest in the 800m, with Maria Colajanni who nearly matched her personal best on debut with 2:00.86, and Lorenza De Noni, last summer’s European U20 bronze medalist, alongside French indoor European silver medalist Clara Liberman and Switzerland’s Valentina Rosamilia. The third invitation race is the 400m hurdles, featuring Michele Bertoldo and Giacomo Bertoncelli, but the program also includes men’s sprint events with two Italians who qualified for the Worlds as part of the mixed 4x100m relay team: Andrea Bernardi in the 100m and Junior Tardioli in the 200m. In the javelin, Michele Fina will compete, having already come close to the 80-meter mark this year with a best of 79.95, achieved with a third-place at the European Cup.