Nadia Battocletti finished fourth in the 5000 meters: judges first disqualified the second place holder, Kenyan Kipyegon, and then readmitted her in the rankings, thus stripping the bronze from the Italian. The Italian athlete also set a new national record with a time of 14:31.64
In the end, no bronze medal for Nadia Battocletti in the 5000 meters at the Paris 2024 Games. The judges first disqualified the second place holder, Kenyan Kipyegon, and then readmitted her to the rankings, thus stripping the bronze from the Italian athlete. The gold went to Kenyan Beatrice Chebet. The Italian athlete set a new Italian record running in 14:31.64. (PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS, LIVE UPDATES)
What happened
Kipyegon had finished the 5000 meters behind compatriot Beatrice Chebet, who took gold, and ahead of Dutch runner Sifan Hassan, with Nadia Battocletti trailing by nearly 3 seconds. However, the judges’ cameras caught Kipyegon waving her arms and pushing an opponent to get out of the ‘traffic’ in the group during the penultimate lap, and after a couple of minutes, the disqualification arrived. In the evening, World Athletics judges accepted Kenya’s appeal, thus reinstating Kipyegon to the silver medal position and bumping Battocletti off the podium. Federatletica announced a counter-appeal.
Battocletti: “Happy with my performance”
“We have to wait for appeals and counter-appeals, for now I’m thinking about the fourth place. Still, I am very happy with how the race went and how I performed.” This is how Nadia Battocletti commented on her result in the 5000 meters final. “I am glad because I overcame my injury, and my legs started to work well. Now, if I feel good, I’m also aiming to participate in the 10,000 meters,” she added, having overcome the moment of emotion after hearing about the potential bronze. “If I were to earn the first medal here in Paris for Italian athletics, I would be happy, both for myself and for my family that has made so many sacrifices alongside me. And because I hope it can be an example. It brings me joy to see so many young people and children running,” she added. “I also want to thank everyone in Italy who is supporting me, sending me encouraging messages or even drawings from their children,” she concluded.