The Art Of Athletics. The 'artists' of sprint, middle distance, jumps and throws are ready to light up Florence to give it another night of masterpieces. Less and less until the stellar evening of the 43rd Golden Gala Pietro Mennea which will return to the Tuscan capital on Friday 2 June, two years after the successful 2021 edition. One of the most prestigious international meetings, hosted since 1980 by the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, is the third leg of the Wanda Diamond League 2023, the top one-day-meeting circuit in the world, and will give the opportunity to enjoy many Olympic and World champions live at the Ridolfi stadium, a venue that is preparing to celebrate twenty years of life since its inauguration on the occasion of the European Cup in June 2003. The event was presented this morning in Florence in the Sala Pegaso of Palazzo Strozzi Sacrati, seat of the Presidency of the Tuscany Region, in the presence of the jumper Larissa Iapichino, silver medallist at the recent European Indoor Championships in Istanbul in the long jump with the Italian indoor record of 6,97. Among the authorities, there were the President of FIDAL Stefano Mei, the President of Tuscany Region Eugenio Giani, the councilor for sport of the Municipality of Florence Cosimo Guccione and the meeting director of the Golden Gala, Marco Sicari.
The women's long jump is one of the most exciting competitions on June 2 in Florence. Local hero Larissa Iapichino, extraordinary in Istanbul, jumping closely to 7 metres, will meet all the main opponents of the European Indoor Championships, starting with the European champion Jazmin Sawyers (Great Britain) who beat her by just three centimetres in Turkey on 5 March. In the line-up stand out also champions such as the German Malaika Mihambo, Olympic gold in Tokyo and World in Eugene, and the Serbian Ivana Vuleta, World indoor gold medallist in Belgrade and European gold medallist in Munich. Just Mihambo and Vuleta (when she was still called Spanovic) were among the protagonists of the duel two years ago in Florence, finished with the best performance of the German (6,82) but with the victory of the Serbian due to the Diamond League regulation in force that season, which rewarded the result of the last of the six jumps (6,56 Spanovic). For the twenty-year-old Larissa Iapichino, who finished sixth in that challenge with 6,45, it will be a new opportunity to compete at the highest levels, in a context that belongs to her more and more and which can enhance her talent.
Among the other opponents of Florence also the Nigerian Olympic bronze and World silver medallist Ese Brume, the Brazilian World bronze medallist Leticia Oro Melo (to complete the podium of Eugene 2022), the fourth from Oregon22 Quanesha Burks (USA), the Ukrainian Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, European champion in Munich in triple jump and winner of the last edition of the Golden Gala in Rome, the Swedish Khaddi Sagnia, among the best European protagonists of the discipline. Other names, in addition to the already known Faith Kipyegon (Kenya, Olympic and World gold in the 1500m) and Femke Bol (400hs, Netherlands, world record holder in the 400m indoors), will be announced in the coming weeks as the event approaches.
Stefano Mei, President of the Italian Athletics Federation
“We are thrilled to be able to host the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Florence again, in an enchanting city, which fostered a lot to Italian athletics and which continues to crank out champions. The Ridolfi stadium is an ideal venue for an event of this type: passion, competence and involvement are breathed in the air, and I don't forget the appreciations of the President of World Athletics Sebastian Coe two years ago. The spirit of institutional collaboration is the starting point for the success of the event, for this reason I feel like addressing my sincere thanks to the Tuscany Region and the Municipality of Florence for their full and fundamental support to the Golden Gala, in the certainty that working together we will be able to confirm ourselves among the best meetings in the world of the year”.
Eugenio Giani, President of the Tuscany Region
“The Golden Gala named after Pietro Mennea, unforgettable sprint champion, comes back to the Ridolfi stadium after two years and honours Florence and Tuscany. We are happy that, given the unavailability of the Olimpico in Rome, the Ridolfi stadium is once again chosen as the ideal place to host the Golden Gala, which is an event of global importance. Tuscany has a great tradition in various disciplines of athletics. Gladly, as in 2021, also this year the Region makes its most prestigious room available to present this important event, the third meeting of the Diamond League. Today, in addition to the representatives of the institutions and the world of sport, there is also one of the protagonists of the next Golden Gala, Larissa Iapichino, long jump champion and one of the most representative athletes of Tuscany sport".
Cosimo Guccione, city councilor for sport of Florence
“It is a particular satisfaction to host the greatest athletes in the world in the most important Italian athletics event, one of the main ones at an international level. In addition, we are in a great moment, as happens few times in history, for Tuscan athletics, and Florentine in particular, with four high-level athletes who are achieving excellent results. Stecchi in pole vault, Larissa Iapichino in long jump, Fabbri in shot put, and the very recent discovery in the sprint, Ceccarelli. By hosting the Golden Gala, Florence confirms its vocation as the capital of international sport. From the women's volleyball European Championships to the return of great tennis, the marathon and, next year, the start of the Tour de France. An incentive also for young people to play sports in the municipal facilities which, we recall, are available to citizens".
Marco Sicari, meeting director of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea
“The 2023 edition of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea will certainly live up to the extraordinary history of this event, the jewel of Italian athletics. The line-up of participants is being defined, and will be made official in the coming weeks, but what I can already say today is that we have received the willingness to come to Italy from an incredible number of leading athletes, Olympic and World champions. Some of the races that are being organised will represent key steps in the international season, and the women's long jump entry list, almost a World Championships final, is just a clear example of this. The organisational machine is proceeding at full speed, the FIDAL team that has been working on the event for years has found in Florence the best conditions and the full support of the institutions, the Region and the Municipality in primis, as well as the logistical support of the Atletica Firenze Marathon. Ticket sales are proceeding great, already about fifty percent of the seats have been assigned, with availability in almost all sectors on TicketOne website. A special thanks goes to RAI for the great work it is carrying out on TV side: the Golden Gala, through the distribution network managed by IMG, will touch over 150 countries around the world".
THE GOLDEN GALA
The Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, the Italian leg of the Wanda Diamond League, is organised by the Italian Athletics Federation. The meeting is supported by World Athletics, the Tuscany Region, the Municipality of Florence, CONI, Sport e Salute, and the partners Joma, Omega, Uliveto, Italia Ortofrutta, Corriere dello Sport and the Fiamme Gialle Sports Groups.
