(ANSA) – ROME, SEPTEMBER 13 – In Brussels, on the first day of the Wanda Diamond League final, European champion Lorenzo Simonelli closed the season with a time of 13.22 in the 110 hurdles (+0.4) and a prestigious second place in the top world circuit, six hundredths of a second behind Frenchman Sasha Zhoya who won in 13.16. On a rather cold evening at the King Baudouin stadium (12 degrees), Olympic bronze medalist Mattia Furlani was fourth in the long jump with 7.88 (+0.3) in the race won by Jamaican Tajay Gayle with 8.28 (+0.4). Dariya Derkach finished sixth in the triple jump (13.45/+0.1), with victory going to Cuban Leyanis Perez (14.37/-0.1). Among the Diamond Trophies awarded on day 1, there is also one for the Swede Armand Duplantis, winner in the pole vault with 6.11, for the gold medalist in the 100m in Paris Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia) who leads with 10.88 (+0.2) and for the Jamaican Ackeem Blake who takes the men’s 100m with 9.93 (+0.1). Tomorrow (Saturday) five more Italians will compete: the world champion Gianmarco Tamberi looking for his third career success in the Diamond League final after those of 2021 and 2022 in Zurich, the world silver medalist Leonardo Fabbri in the shot put, Larissa Iapichino in the long jump, Roberta Bruni in the pole vault, Ayomide Folorunso in the 400m hurdles. The European champion finds his form again in the last race of the year and narrowly misses the final success that would have further embellished the season of the world indoor silver medalist in the 60m hurdles and gold medalist in Rome in the 110m hurdles. Simonelli starts well, becomes effective again between the barriers and only the impact with the tenth hurdle takes away the momentum that would have been needed to fight the French Sasha Zhoya until the last meter. But the evaluation can only be positive: “I didn’t think I could run 13.22 in mid-September – comments the Italian from the Army – I don’t know where I found the energy. This race is thanks to the technical instructions that coach Giorgio Frinolli gave me. It was an almost perfect season and now I’m going on vacation with a smile. I’ve finally regained some confidence after Paris…”. In a final without the American master of the specialty Grant Holloway, the one to rejoice is the French Sasha Zhoya (13.16), on the rise in this last part of the season. Third is Freddie Crittenden (13.24), far away is the other American Olympic silver medalist Daniel Roberts (eighth, 13.44). Mattia Furlani’s (Fiamme Oro) very long and successful season ends with 7.88 in the long jump in Brussels, on his first jump, with a tailwind of +0.3. For the Olympic bronze medalist, he also scored 7.83, only one attempt (6.39) and three no-shows, to close out a dream 2024, illuminated by three medals in the three major events (world indoor silver in Glasgow, European silver in Rome, bronze at the Paris Games). “It was an incredible season, but there is still a lot of work to do, next year we will introduce several new features in the run-up”, announced the nineteen-year-old Italian. Jamaican Tajay Gayle is back, with the best measurement of the year with 8.28 (+0.4), the performance that gives him the title of Diamond League champion. In the last jump, the Swiss Simon Ehammer (8.16/+0.4) and the Greek all-around champion Miltiadis Tentoglou also surpassed eight meters, this evening ‘only’ third with 8.15 (+0.2). Furlani, fourth, remains ahead of the two Jamaicans Carey McLeod (7.85/0.0) and Wayne Pinnock (7.43/-0.3). (ANSA).
2024-09-14 03:47:47