Fabrizio Donato improves his indoor best to 8.03m in Ancona (© Giancarlo Colombo)
Ancona, ItalyItalian jumpers headlined the 42nd edition of the Italian Indoor Championships in Ancona over the weekend.
Fabrizio Donato’s 8.03m in the Long Jump, Fabrizio Schembri’s 17.00m in the men’s Triple Jump and Simona La Mantia’s 14.33m in the women’s Triple Jump were the stand-out results hosted for the fifth time in the modern Banca Marche Palas, the home of indoor athletics in Italy.
Donato takes Long Jump, sidelined from Triple Jump
Donato was clearly in the spotlight. The reigning European indoor Triple Jump champion from Torino 2009 improved his long jump PB by one centimetre leaping to 8.03m, which ranks him fourth in the European Indoor seasonal list. During the long jump held on day one Donato suffered from a cramp and decided to pull out his specialist Triple Jump event. “It is not serious but I did not take any risks. I will not double triple and long jump because the qualifying rounds of both events at the European Indoors in Paris are held on the same day,” said Donato.
Schembri won the Triple Jump with 17.00m, setting his seasonal best by seven centimetres. Schembri, who holds an outdoor PB of 17.27m and a indoor PB of 17.12m, would have won the competition with his second, third and fourth best jumps (16.94m, 16.90m and 16.88m). European Under 23 champion Daniele Greco improved his seasonal best to 16.65m to take second place.
“I am sorry that Donato pulled out because the competition would have been more exciting. My goal for Paris is to come close to the podium but I know it will be a very tough competition with very strong competitors,” Schembri said.
Simona La Mantia, who made a sensational comeback last summer when she won the European silver medal in Barcelona after three years of injuries, produced a solid series of jumps to take the women’s Triple Jump with 14.33m, equalling her seasonal best set in the same venue at the end of January which ranks her sixth in the European seasonal list. La Mantia opened with 14.15m, 14.12m and 14.30m in the first three attempts. After a foul in the fourth round La Mantia improved to 14.31m and 14.33m in the final two attempts.
“I am a bit disappointed because I know my potential from training. I know what I can do and I expected more. What makes me confident is that I am more consistent than last summer,” said La Mantia.
Tumi upsets Di Gregorio in 60m
The men’s 60m was one of the most awaited events especially after Emanuele Di Gregorio clocked the second fastest time in Europe when he finished third in Stuttgart in 6.62. Di Gregorio clocked 6.66 in the heats but in the afternoon it turned to be out a strange final in which Michael Tumi produce a major upset by winning the title in 6.70 edging out European Indoor bronze medallist and 4x100 silver medallist Di Gregorio by 0.01. Tumi doubled the Italian Under-23 title won last week in the same venue.
Italian Shot Put record holder Chiara Rosa, a 2007 World Championships finalist in Osaka, opened the official programme with a solid win with 18.34m, the fifth best performance in Europe this winter and set the qualifying standard for the European Indoor Championships in Paris Bercy.
In the absence of Italian High Jump record holder Antonietta Di Martino, who skipped the National Indoor Championships after setting the Italian record to 2.04m in Banska Bystrica to prepare for the European Indoor Championships, Raffaella Lamera won the title by equalling her indoor PB at 1.90 (5 cm off her outdoor best from last June in Florence). Lamera then made three attempts at the qualifying standard for Paris of 1.92m.
Nicola Ciotti cleared a winning 2.25m to take the men’s High Jump title. Thirty-four year-old Ciotti, who jumped a seasonal best of 2.28m in Banska Bystrica this year, produced a clean sheet up to 2.25m. He then failed one attempt at 2.27m and two tries at the Italian Indoor record of 2.32m.
Women's 400m corps prepping for Paris
Marta Milani, European Championships finalist in the 400m and the 4x400 relay in Barcelona, improved her indoor PB by 0.01 to 53.09 to take her second consecutive national indoor title. The top-four set PBs, which augurs well for the Paris 4x400 relay European Indoor Championships. Maria Enrica Spacca finished second in 53.35 ahead of Chiara Bazzoni (53.82) and Giulia Arcioni (53.82). The Italian 4x400 finished fourth at the European Championships in Barcelona and can fight for a spot in the final in Paris and in Daegu at the World Championships.
Giulia Pennella, one of the revelations of the current indoor season, won the 60m Hurdles in 8.17, one week after her under 23 national title in the same venue in 8.13, a result which qualifies her for Paris.
Giorgio Piantella cleared 5.55m to win the men’s Pole Vault which did not feature former World champion Giuseppe Gibilisco who cleared 5.50m on the same day in Birmingham. The most interesting result came from 2010 World Junior silver medallist Claudio Stecchi who improved his PB by 10 cm to 5.50m finishing second. Stecchi is the son of former Italian Pole Vault record holder Gianni Stecchi. Italian record holder Anna Giordano Bruno vaulted a winning 4.30m to beat Italian Under 23 champion and former national gymnast Giorgia Benecchi by 5 cm.
Former 3000m European Indoor bronze medallist Silvia Weissteiner made a winning comeback in the women’s 3000 metres in 9:22.40 in her first track race after a difficult 2010 season in which she was sidelined by injury problems.
Former European 100 and 200m bronze medallist Manuela Levorato, who is enjoying a good season two years after giving birth to her daughter Giulia, won a slow 60m final in 7.44, which was a below-par result compared to her 7.31 set at the end of January in Chemnitz.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
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