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ENTRY LIST GOLDEN GALA PIETRO MENNEA 2026 – TIMETABLE – TICKETS HERE – FOTOGALLERY (ph. Fama/FIDAL)
Rome, Stadio Olimpico, presentation for the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea scheduled for June 4. Here are the statements from the event.
Marcell Jacobs (100 metres)
“I’m back, and it’s exciting to be in Rome again. I didn’t expect so much enthusiasm from the people I’ve met. We’re ready to start this season. Last season wasn’t one of the best, but that’s part of a career: ups and downs, and you have to take something positive from every experience. This year we have the European Championships: it would be my third consecutive title. Physically I feel good, and I’m going back to the basics, where everything started. Since 2018, Rome has been a fundamental part of my life: it changed me as both an athlete and a person. I wanted to come back here to build something important. After the great victories and also the difficult moments, like Tokyo, I often asked myself about the meaning of the journey. But you have to keep pushing and fighting. My story shows that there are not only easy moments: you always have to get back up. The Golden Gala 100 metres? A beautiful race to watch and experience. Lyles? I’m not focused on my opponents, I’m focused on being on the starting blocks. My coach Paolo Camossi and I are happy we found the right path again. We knew we had to fix some things, but the feeling between us had never been lost, and we immediately found each other again. I have no regrets about my choices. If we’re here today, it’s because I still have a lot to give and nothing can stop me. What kind of Jacobs will we see this season? That’s a good question: I know what I’ve been producing in training.”
Mattia Furlani (Long Jump)
“I’m feeling good. This season continues an important journey toward Los Angeles 2028. The goal is to aim for the gold medal, while continuing to achieve significant milestones. Being here today is something important and prestigious: Marcell Jacobs, Gianmarco Tamberi, Larissa Iapichino, and historic figures like Fabrizio Donato and Fiona May have inspired me since I was a child. The objective is always to give my best in every competition. Competing against top-level athletes at the Golden Gala will be fundamental for growth. Long jump is in a great moment. And maybe, who knows, in 2027 I’ll add the 100 metres too. The Olimpico is a different kind of emotion. I had my first Palio dei Comuni here, then the Silver Gala following my sister Erika, and of course I come here to watch Roma. This stadium says everything. My condition? We’re introducing many new elements into technical preparation, and this is an important phase of the season. Andrew Howe’s record is within reach, a goal I’ve been chasing for some time, and Andrew is an important role model for me. The Golden Gala is definitely an opportunity for the Italian record, simply because every competition is an opportunity. Saraboyukov is the athlete of the moment. My best memories with him actually come from our youth competitions more than the senior level. He’s the athlete to beat.”
Andy Diaz (Triple Jump)
“I want to aim for the world record here at the Golden Gala. It would be something wonderful. I believe in it and I want to try. I’ll give 100%. Physically I feel good. After Tokyo we overcame the groin injury and we’re wrapping up a key stage of training. The Golden Gala will be my seasonal debut and I’d like to win it again after my victories in 2023 and 2024. So far only one Italian athlete, Alessandro Lambruschini, has won this event three times: it would be a great achievement to match. I hope for a great competition, and I’m waiting for Pichardo and other big names. But nobody scares me.”
Stefano Mei (FIDAL President)
“Athletics is a global sport: more than 210 countries are affiliated with World Athletics, no other sport has a similar reach. The 43 gold medals between the Olympics and World Championships clearly show what we’re talking about. Here at this conference we have three of our great champions: Marcell Jacobs, Mattia Furlani and Andy Diaz, who has integrated perfectly into the Italian team and is a proud representative of the national squad. Italian athletics does not depend on a single athlete: in almost every discipline we will have an Italian athlete playing a leading role at the Golden Gala. There’s no better way to support them than by being at the stadium. The June 4 show will be extraordinary thanks to these stars. Over the last five years Italian athletics has grown enormously, year after year. There will be great attention on the European Championships in Birmingham because we are coming from Rome 2024, but the goal is always to improve. The national team’s results have been excellent, and now we also need to improve everything surrounding them. We have thought about important figures at the federation level as well, such as Fiona May: she will have a role within FIDAL. Athletics has never been healthier: this is probably its strongest era ever. And step by step, the Golden Gala can become even more important.”
Marco Sicari (Golden Gala Meeting Director)
“The 100 metres will be stellar: Noah Lyles and Marcell Jacobs, along with Letsile Tebogo, Olympic champion in the 200 metres, and Ferdinand Omanyala, whom we are announcing today. In the long jump we will have an extremely high level with Mattia Furlani and all the other international stars: almost nobody is missing. The triple jump field is also outstanding. In the 5000 metres, even without Chebet due to maternity leave, there will still be top-level opponents, and Nadia Battocletti is targeting the European record. In the women’s 200 metres we will have the best athletes in the world, with the possibility of additional major names. In the women’s 400 metres there will be plenty of anticipation to see what Keely Hodgkinson, Olympic and world indoor champion in the 800 metres, can do. We are working hard on promotion: the goal is to fill the Stadio Olimpico, which is not easy for a one-night event. I want to highlight the 9.2 million dollars in prize money distributed by the Diamond League during the season: the Golden Gala offers a total prize purse of 520,000 dollars. We hope to give you a great evening.”
Flavio Calligaris (Senior Director of Athlete Strategy & Partnership at On)
“We are incredibly proud to celebrate our first-ever Diamond League partnership at the iconic Golden Gala in Rome. This is a milestone moment for On, as we bring our commitment to innovation and our core mission—to ignite the human spirit through movement—to one of the most historic stages in world athletics. Rome has a soul unlike any other city, and to see the On brand integrated into the fabric of the Diamond League here is a dream realized. The energy at the Stadio Olimpico will be electric as our athletes take the track. We are thrilled to cheer on local heroes Federico Riva and Ludovica Cavalli alongside international stars Ackeem Blake, Mohamed Attaoui, Agathe Guillemot, and Claudia Hollingsworth. Beyond the track, we are bringing that same energy to the fans through immersive experiences, from our premium hospitality and ‘On-it’ cheering zones to the On Lab at the commercial village, where fans can explore our latest innovations and engage with the future of performance.”