Nadia Battocletti won a bronze medal in the 5,000 meters at the World Championships in Tokyo . The Italian, who had already won silver in the 10,000 meters this year, confirms her position as the only star capable of shining among the elite African middle-distance runners.
Battocletti led the entire race in the top positions, and in the final lap, she joined the sprint of the Kenyan trio favored for the race, only just threatening second place. The gold medal went to Beatrice Chebet (14:54.36), who thus repeated her 10,000m gold medal, while the silver medal went to another Kenyan, Faith Kypiegon (14:55.07). Battocletti, on the other hand, finished with the third-fastest time, 14:55.42.
This is the seventh medal won by the Italian team at these World Championships : one gold, in the long jump by Mattia Furlani, three silvers, and three bronzes. It's a record: Italy has never won more than six medals at the World Athletics Championships .
The 4x100 relay team was eliminated in the heats, with Olympic hero Filippo Tortu being excluded. The Italians, however, are hoping for a repechage, as Marcell Jacobs was rear-ended and held up by South African athlete Shaun Maswanganyi.
(Unioneonline)
