Rome: Antonella Palmisano gave Italy the best possible start as the host of the European Athletics Championships on Friday, winning the 20km race walk.
The 32-year-old Olympic champion navigated the stunning course in 1hr 28min 09sec in freezing conditions, which saw many runners walk with ice packs around their necks.
Palmisano, the warm-up stadium of Rome’s Olympic complex, dominates the Stadio de Marmi circle, surrounded by 60 four-foot (13-meter) tall marble statues from the era of fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini.
Palmisano beat his opponents at will and finished with a celebratory lap in the Italian flag-draped Stadio Olimpico, to the delight of a small crowd.
“I missed the gold medal at the European Championships so far and in Rome I want to focus more on the race,” said Palmisano.
“It was great to share the podium with Valentina Trapletti: she had a great race: we had our first gold and our first silver medal in Rome and we hope for more to come in the coming days,” said Palmisano.
“It was my dream to win in Rome, now I want to win again at the Olympics in Paris.”
Spain’s Laura García-Caro thought she would be off the podium, but she was soon tagged and lined up by Ukraine’s Lyudmila Olyanowska as the photo was taken.
