Andrew Howe (ITA) goes temporarily into the gold medal position. Ultimately he ended with the silver (© Getty Images)
The Italian Club Championships in Palermo capped the outdoor season of Italian athletics with some good results despite tiredeness from the long summer of competitions.
Andrew Howe, the World championships silver medallist in the long jump and World Athletics Final winner last week in Stuttgart, got the spotlight of these championships. On the first day he anchored the 4x100m Relay Aeronanautica club to a convincing win in 39.41. On Sunday he leapt to a end-of season 8.08m to take an easy win in the Long Jump.
Italian hammer thrower Clarissa Claretti, seventh at the World Championships in Osaka and third at the WAF in Stuttgart, continued her great season on a high note throwing beyond the 70 metres barrier with 71.43m, the best technical result of the championships. Claretti, who is also a referee in youth football matches, produced a second best throw of 70.75m to clinch an unopposed win.
Chiara Rosa, the Italian Shot Put record holder with 19.15m and World championships finalist in Osaka (eighth), produced the third best performance of her season with a solid 18.98m release backed up by a very good series: 18.22 -18.98 – 18.71 -18.80 – foul – 18.98. Rosa beat European indoor champion Assunta Legnante (18.24m).
Simone Collio, the third fastest Italian sprinter in history with his 10.14 in the 100m set at the Rieti IAAF Grand Prix, won the 100m sprint in 10.35 into a strong headwind (-2.5 m/s) edging out 100m World championships fourth placer and African record holder Olusoji Fasuba (10.37). Fasuba won the 200m in 20.86.
Elisa Cusma, who ran 1:58.63 in the Osaka World championships semifinals and finished seventh at the World Athletics Final, crowned her successful season beating world bronze medallist Irina Lischynska in a very tactical 1500m. The following day Cusma, daughter of former European boxing champion Lucio Cusma, won the 800 metres in 2:03.24.
Magdelin Martinez, sixth in the Triple Jump final in Osaka with 14.71m, ended her comeback season with a easy win with 14.06m.
The Fiamme Gialle won the men’s national championships title for the seventh consecutive year. The women’s title went to the Fondiaria Sai Roma.
During a moving ceremony the Stadio delle Palme in Palermo, the venue of the Italian Club Championships, was named after Vito Schifani, a former 400m sprinter and policeman who was killed during the assassination of magistrate Giovanni Falcone in Capaci in May 1992.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
