World stars will be in the spotlight at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea at the Olympic Stadium in the fourth leg of the IAAF Diamond League. On 6th June the crowd will have the chance to cheer high jump European Indoor champion Gianmarco Tamberi and Italian 100m record holder Filippo Tortu, who will line up in the 200m. This sprint race is taking shape day after day and will be highlighted by some of the biggest sprint stars. The 200m features US Noah Lyles, who improved his personal best to 19.65 last year, and Michael Norman, who recently clocked a sensational 43.45 time in the 400m. The men’s high jump will welcome Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist and 2015 world gold medallist Derek Drouin from Canada (PB 2.40m) and Moscow 2013 world champion and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Bohdan Bondarenko (PB 2.42m).
The Italian stars – They are the stand-out stars of Italian athletics and the most eagerly awaited Italian athletes: Tamberi will make his first appearance at the Rome Olympic Stadium since 2016, when he cleared 2.30m. Tortu is ready to set the Rome track on fire after his 10.04 clocking in the 100m in 2018, which augured well for his big feat (9.99 in Madrid), and after his 20.34 time in the 200m he clocked two years ago. Twenty-six year-old Tamberi (Fiamme Gialle) will compete on 6th June as the reigning European Indoor gold medallist from Glasgow 2019. He cleared 2.32m at the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona and again in Scotland, returning to fly over the bar after a difficult period of over two years and a half, which started with the 2016 Monte-Carlo meeting, when he set the Italian record of 2.39m before suffering from a serious injury on his take-off foot. He has just returned from a three-week training camp in Cyprus. Before Rome he will test his shape in Shanghai on 18th May in the second leg of the IAAF Diamond League and in Nanjing on Chinese soil on 21th May. Twenty-year-old Tortu (Fiamme Gialle) is about to leave to the World Relays in Yokohama (11-12 May), where he will take part in the 4x100 relay with the Italian team. On his return from Japan he will warm up on 24th May in Rieti in the 100m. The Rome Olympic Stadium will mark his return to the 200m almost two years after his last race over the distance at the 2017 World Championships in London.
World-class 200 metres sprint – “Pippo” will face a high-speed race. In the 200 metres US sprinter Noah Lyles is the reigning Diamond League champion in 2017 and 2018 and is among the big favourites for the world title in Doha (27 September- 6 October). Last year he joined in the all-time top 10 with his 19.65 clocking set in Monte-Carlo and enjoyed an outstanding season, in which he dipped under the 19.70 barrier four times. Lyles won the world under 20 title in the 100m in Bydgoszcz 2016 ahead of Filippo Tortu, who won the silver medal. The 21-year-old US sprinter has never lost a 200m race in the Diamond League and this could be the crowning season of his career. His compatriot Michael Norman will be looking to give a run for his money on the Olympic Stadium track. He was in the spotlight at the start of the season with his outstanding 43.45 on his debut in Torrance in California, a time which moved him up to fourth in the all-time list. In the 200m the 21 year-old sprinter starts the season with his 19.84 PB set last year in the Diamond League meeting in Paris.
High jump show – “Halfshave” will face two of the biggest gold medal candidates for the world title in Doha, who have also been plagued by injury problems in the recent seasons and are determined to bounce back. Derek Drouin (Canada) and Bohdan Bondarenko (Ukraine) belong to the exclusive club of jumpers, who have been able to clear 2.40m during their careers. Twenty-nine year-old Bondarenko was sidelined by a knee injury for the entire 2018 season and is looking forward to renew his rivalry against Tamberi, three years after their clash in 2016, when the Ukrainian jumper finished first with 2.33m ahead of “Gimbo”, who took third place. Twenty-nine Canadian jumper Drouin had the same bad luck. He has just come back from a long Achilles tendon injury lay-off, which started before the 2017 World Championships in London. He is eager to bounce back to his past best performances and return to winning medals when it matters most.
The timetable - The Rome Golden Gala Pietro Mennea features 14 Diamond League disciplines. Men’s events: 200m, 800m, 5000m, 110hs, high jump, triple jump and shot put. Women’s events: 100m, 400m, 1500m, 400hs, pole vault, long jump and javelin throw. The Rome Golden Gala also featured two additional men’s non Diamond League events: the 400m hurdles and the 3000m steeplechase.
Tickets available online on Ticketone – The tickets for the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea 2019, scheduled for Thursday 6 June 2019 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, are on sale. Tickets for the fourth leg of the IAAF Diamond League can be purchased at Lis Ticket online stores at sport.ticketone.it.
These are the prices of the 2019 edition (+ presale fee):
- Monte Mario Arrivals: 30.00 Euro - Reduced price for under 14: 15.00
- Monte Mario Start Line: 20.00
- Tribuna Tevere Finish Line: 15.00
- Curva Nord and Distinti: 5.00
The ticket office of the Foro Italico is also open at the Foro Italico in Rome (Viale delle Olimpiadi 61, former Youth Hostel). Opening hours: from Monday to Friday: 10:00-13:00: 14:00 -17:00).
<link https: sport.ticketone.it event it golden-gala-pietro-mennea _blank>ONLINE TICKETING
