March, Italy’s disappointment in the relay: Stano and Palmisano finish in 6th place

PARIS – Italy does not win a medal in the walking relaythe new and very brainless formula that puts together a man and a woman over the marathon distance, in four alternating 10 km sections (and a few cents, for the last one). The all-Pugliese couple composed of Massimo Stano and Antonella Palmisanoat their second outing in this race which is hopefully not destined to have an Olympic future, finished in 6th place, more than 3 minutes behind the Spanish gold medalist Alvaro Martin and Maria PerezIn second place the Ecuadorian pair Pintado-Morejon, third Australia (Cowley-Montag).

Blues in medal area until the last fraction: after a poor first part (6th at the first change, position maintained by Palmisano), Massimo Stano changed for the last time in third position. The athlete from Taranto, however, not at her best in these Games also due to a recent Covid infection (she had also withdrawn in her 20 km), went into crisis and was preceded at the finish line also by Peru and Mexico. After the two golds in Tokyo, the Italian race walk bounced back in Paris: at the end of the program, they returned home with zero medals. “I had Covid, I was always monitored and isolated by my teammates, I felt my strength failing in the second part of the race” explains Antonella Palmisano, “we told ourselves anyway ‘let’s give it our all’. This Olympics went like this”. Stano: “I struggled on the curves with the bad ankle I had, I went better on the straights. I also got a big blister on one foot but I kept going straight. We told ourselves to compete without too many worries, that we would take everything that came. But we were not well, if instead of Ita we had written ‘zoppi’ we would not have made a mistake. The formula leaves me perplexed. I cried for happiness and sadness during Antonella’s fraction. And a lot depends on the judges. It’s a lottery, I don’t like it, even if it creates more team spirit”.