The splendid gold of a half-Sardinian 4x100m closes a record-breaking edition of the European athletics championships for Italy .

The blue sprinters, who left the void behind them, are from another planet. At the starting blocks Melluzzo held firm, in the second fraction the Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs burned his opponents, then the Oristano Lorenzo Patta author of an excellent turn and in the last fraction Filippo Tortu who increased the advantage . Italy finished with an excellent 37''82, a sidereal distance compared to the Netherlands, second with 38''46, and Germany, third with 38''52 . The Azzurri's substitutions were perfect.

«We wanted to win, no relay team had managed to do it and I'm happy to have shared the path with them. I'm too proud of the race we did, I dedicate the medal to my father . I wanted to give him the gold in the 200 meters, I couldn't do it and I will give him this", said Filippo Tortu. «We are very happy, it was our goal to win. The important thing was to get to the bottom first and we succeeded", the words of Lorenzo Patta.

Yesterday Italy also collected two silvers, in the men's 4x400 (Sito, Aceti, Meli, Scotti) and in the women's long run with Larissa Iapichino, and a bronze with Pietro Arese in the 1,500 metres .

The European expedition ends with 24 medals, of which 11 gold. It's a record, and for the first time in history Italy is first in the medal table .

(Unioneonline/L)