Another medal, the fourth, for Italy at the World Championships in Tokyo.
In the marathon, Iliass Aouani took bronze with a time of 2:09:53.
Tanzanian Alphonce Simbu won in a photo finish with a breathtaking sprint, coming from behind to overtake German Amanal Petros.
"It's one of those moments you dream about all your life," says the Italian happily. "I was crazy to dream big. A medal that makes me proud but doesn't satisfy my hunger. I'm grateful to those who believed in me, happy to raise the Italian flag and to have made so many people happy: my family, coach Massimo Magnani, and all the staff who support me," adds the marathon runner, born in Morocco and who moved to Italy at the age of two.
“At the fifteenth kilometer, voices from my dark side began to surface, wanting me to give up, but I immediately silenced them,” he said.
Around the halfway point, "in a sponge, I lost one of my two contact lenses, but I told myself that one would be enough. I entered the stadium and it was beautiful. I was aiming for gold, but the others were better than me. Last year I was disappointed not to be called up for the Olympics, and the last two months have been very complicated, also due to some injuries. " "This bronze," he concludes, "comes from nowhere, from the public housing of Ponte Lambro, and I hope my story is an inspiration to everyone: when you believe enough, dreams can come true. My father is about to go to work on a construction site and will be proud of me. This medal contains everything: moments of disappointment when I wanted to give up, tears shed alone in the car, but I did it."
(Unioneonline)