Golden Gala even more stellar with Crouser and Stona golds

Two more Olympic champions are added to the wonderful cast of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, the thirteenth stage of the Wanda Diamond League, scheduled on Friday 30 August at the Olympic Stadium of Rome: gold medal winners Ryan Crouser (USA, shot put) and Roje Stona (Jamaica, discus throw). The world record holder Crouser entered even further into the legend by winning his third consecutive Olympic gold in Paris, after those of Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020. For Stona, trained by Crouser in Arkansas, it was a surprise victory at the Stade de France in the discus throw, with the personal best and Olympic Record of 70.00.

SHOT PUT - It will be an exciting competition with many of the best competitors in the world. By the others, the entire podium of the Paris Games will compete in Rome: gold medallist Ryan Crouser, at his first participation in the Golden Gala, will be able to attack the meeting record which dates back to 2019 (set by Poland’s Bukowiecki, with 21.97); silver medallist and Diamond League champion Joe Kovacs (USA), and bronze medallist Rajindra Campbell (Jamaica), as well as fourth-place finisher from Paris Payton Otterdahl (USA). Among those registered are also the Italian Leonardo Fabbri (fifht), Nigerian Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (sixth) and the New Zealander Jacko Gill (seventh), the Italian European indoor champion Zane Weir, the Croatian Filip Mihaljevic.

DISCUS THROW - Not only the gold medal in the discus, but the entire podium, and even the first seven of the Olympics will be on the field in Rome. Roje Stona is aiming for the first victory in the Diamond League at the Golden Gala, but he will be contested by the world record holder Mykolas Alekna (Lithuania, silver in Paris), the bronze medallist Matthew Denny (Australia) and the fourth placer Kristjan Ceh (Slovenia), holder of the Meeting Record with 70.72 of the 2022 edition. Also in the lineup Lukas Weisshaidinger (AUT, fifth), Clemens Prufer (GER, sixth), Daniel Stahl (SWE, seventh, but also Olympic gold in Tokyo and World Champion in Budapest), Swede Simon Pettersson (silver in Tokyo), and Italy’s Alessio Mannucci.

SO MANY CHAMPIONS - The number of Paris Olympic champions in individual events competing in Rome rises to 9. Crouser and Stona join Letsile Tebogo (Botswana), gold in the 200m, competing at the Olympic Stadium in the 100m, Quincy Hall (USA, 400m), Hamish Kerr (New Zealand, high), Masai Russell (USA, 100m hurdles), Winfred Yavi (Bahrain, 3000 steeplechase), Nina Kennedy (Australia, pole vault), Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA, long jump). In a cast yet to be completed, there are already many Italians competing: HJ World and European champion Gianmarco Tamberi, HJ fourth placer in Paris (with 2.34) Stefano Sottile, Olympic silver of 10.000m Nadia Battocletti (in Rome she will compete in the 1500), triple jump bronze medal Andy Diaz, 110hs European champion Lorenzo Simonelli, pole vaulters Elisa Molinarolo and Roberta Bruni.