The Italian athlete competes in the 5000 and 10,000 meters
Today, Friday, August 2, the Olympic Games for Nadia Battocletti begin in Paris. The Italian athlete will be competing at 18:10, alongside Federica Del Buono, in the heats of the 5000 meters, with the final scheduled for 21:10 on Monday, August 5. Then, four days later, at 20:55 on Friday, August 9, the national leader in long-distance running will return to the track for the 10,000 meters. Battocletti is highly motivated and unafraid to face four champions in her heat such as the Kenyan Faith Kipyegon, the Ethiopians Gudaf Tsegay, Ejgayehu Taye, and the Dutch Sifan Hassan. That is, four of the five top contenders for a podium finish alongside the Kenyan Beatrice Chebet. The top eight athletes qualified among the twenty-one in her heat will advance to the next round.
The growth of Nadia Battocletti
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Three years ago at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Nadia, then twenty-one, astonished the world by finishing in seventh place, being the first white athlete in the Olympic final of the 5000 meters, completing the distance in 14:46.29. Three years later, the Italian champion has made a further leap in quality by bringing the national record to 14:35.29, in addition to achieving a splendid double of continental titles at the recent European Championships in Rome, dominating the 5000 and 10,000 meters events. What does this mean in terms of final placement at the Olympic Games in Paris? A lot and nothing at all. Because already repeating the placement of three years ago, namely seventh place, would be an important result considering the level of the competitors, which is higher than three years ago in Tokyo. According to dad Giuliano, her lifelong coach, his daughter currently has the potential to run the 5000 meters in a time between 14:20 and 14:25. A time that should allow her to stay with the leaders until the last lap of the race and then play all her cards in the sprint.
Trainings not at high altitudes
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To be at the level of the best, Nadia trained for a whole month in Campolongo, on the Asiago plateau, at an altitude of 1550 meters. No more challenging altitudes like those chosen by almost all the other Italian middle-distance runners like Sestriere, St. Moritz, or Livigno. This was to stay cool, perform good organic workouts, and avoid issues when transitioning from high altitude back to sea level.
Pace changes
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In the last two weeks before Paris, the Italian athlete spent time in Trento to refine her form and acclimatize to the humid climate she would find in Paris. The main trainings were based on pace changes to be able to respond at any moment of the race to the violent accelerations of the African athletes. Champions capable of shifting from paces above 3 minutes per km to speeds below 2 minutes and 50 seconds per km in an instant. Nothing has been left to chance. Especially this time. Now all that remains is to wait confidently for the verdict of the track.
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