Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Meeting Director Luigi D’Onofrio and Italian Athletics Federation President Alfio Giomi talked to media representatives from all over the world about their expectations for tomorrow’s meeting to take place at the Rome Olympic Stadium. This will be a special edition of the Rome meeting for many athletes in the build-up to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Alfio Giomi: “The Golden Gala is the cherry on the cake of a series of promotional activities like the Run Fest which is attracting a lot of people at the Marmi Stadium, and the Italian School Games. The success of these activities has been made possible thanks to the close co-operation between the FIDAL and the CONI Servizi. The Golden Gala will be an important meeting for Italian athletes. A few of them are not competing here for different reasons: either their event is not in the Golden Gala programmes or they are working to reach their form later in the season. Nevertheless we have a good participation of Italian athletes. The Silver Gala, which traditionally serves as the warm-up event on the eve of the Golden Gala, will be more important from the technical point of view as this year Italian 4x100 relays will be looking to reach the qualifying standard for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The message sent by UNO General Secretary Ban Ki Moon to the Organizers of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea adds prestige and importance to athletics. It has been one of the most important moments in my activity as President of the Italian Athletics Federation.”
Luigi D’Onofrio: “We have fulfilled all expectations having at the meeting the top stars that we have announced in our press conference one month ago. We are confident that the meeting will live up to its tradition. Every competition is very important but we are focusing on some events like the high jump which is grabbing the attention in Italy at the moment. We expect a lot from middle distance races where fast times can be achieved. Relays will involve teams from Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, the Ukraine, Switzerland and Thailand. All these teams are looking for the qualifying time for the Olympic Games in Rio. We expect a good crowd attendance in line with last year’s figures despite June 2 is a the National holiday here in Italy.”
The first part of the press conference with some of the top stars of the Rome meeting featured Olympic, World and European long jump champion Greg Rutherford, 100 and 200m world champion Justin Gatlin, triple jump double world champion Catherine Ibarguen and 400m world champion Wayde Van Niekerk
Greg Rutherford: “The season has gone pretty well. I have always done very well in Rome. It’s an important competition as I will compete against a strong field. I am lucky to have good people around me who are helping me reaching my best form for the big event. I am planning to organize a long jump in my garden after the Olympic Games. I am happy that there is a great interest from my colleagues to take part in this special competition.”
Justin Gatlin: “My training is focused on the US Trials where I will open my season in the 200m. I am recovering from an ankle injury which is causing me some problems in the mid-part of the race at 50m-60m. My best memory of Rome is the support from the crowd and the kids. This is what I prefer when I run in Rome. I would choose my win over Bolt in Rome as my best moment I achieved over here because it has given me the confidence that I can run consistently at a very high level.”
Caterine Ibarguen: “I hope to have a good feeling tomorrow when I will face strong rivals. The rivalry against Yulimar Rojas is helping me jump further. It’s excellent to have such a challenge".
Wayde Van Niekerk: “I have trained very well in this period and this race is the best chance to test my form. I love every sprint distance but I am now focusing on the 400m.”
The second part of the press conference was focused on the four stars of the men’s high jump Mutaz Essa Barshim , Bohdan Bondarenko, Gianmarco Tamberi and Marco Fassinotti.
Mutaz Barshim: “I did not start my season very well in Doha. I made some changes in my training. I am planning some competitions to reach my best form for the Olympic Games in Rio. In 2014 we reached very high standards but it’s difficult to keep this form for a long time without the risk of getting injured. This year the main focus is to win medals and not to reach big heights. Maybe 2.30 could be enough to reach the podium in Rio if it rains but I think that 2.38m will be needed to win a medal.”
Bohdan Bondarenko: “My season has not started very well in Shanghai despite the win but I am confident for my next competitions.”
Gianmarco Tamberi: “I started my outdoor season in Rabat ten days ago. I cleared 2.25m but I jumped using the shorter approach with nine steps. What I achieved is in line what I expected to jump at this time of the season. I started to reduce the workload in training and I hope to be competitive against the great athletes I will face in Rome. Bondarenko showed that he is able to reach great results even when he is not in top shape. I think that Barshim is the best jumper in history. I hope to jump 2.40m this summer but honestly I would prefer to win a medal in Rio. I would not be surprised if medals will be won at 2.40 in Rio but considering that the Olympic record is 2.38 I think that this height will be enough to reach the podium. Italy is experiencing a good period in terms of results, even at youth and junior level. It’s important to take the opportunity from this positive period and try to open the doors to new training methods and to what other countries are doing.”
Marco Fassinotti: “The season has started very well in Doha, then I worked hard in training and I will be in better shape in Rome. This year the goal is to peak our form in August. I have great respect for Bondarenko’s technique and Barshim’s determination and his ability to believe in his possibilities every time. I saw that Italian athletes are achieving good results at the moment. I live abroad and it’s a pleasure to see it.”
<link http: www.fidal.it>Photos
<link http: www.ticketone.it _blank>TICKETS
FOLLOW US: <link http: fidal.us6.list-manage.com track _blank facebook>Facebook - <link http: fidal.us6.list-manage.com track _blank twitter>Twitter @goldengala_roma
