World Championships in Tokyo: Italy's Palmisano takes silver in 35 km walk
World Championships in Tokyo kick off with an Italian medal, CE Report quotes ANSA.
It’s silver for Antonella Palmisano, who finished second in the 35 km race walk, confirming herself once again as a leading figure in athletics with another highlight in an extraordinary career. This is her third medal at the World Championships, after two bronzes in London 2017 and Budapest 2023. Palmisano also claimed Olympic gold at the 2021 Games in Tokyo (in Sapporo, in the race walk events) and was crowned European champion in Rome 2024.
The athlete from Puglia crossed the finish line in 2h42:24, behind Spain’s María Pérez, who won in 2h39:01, successfully defending her title from two years ago. Pérez broke away at the 23rd km before waiting for Palmisano at the finish line, greeting her with a bow and embracing her as both friend and rival.
On a humid, overcast morning, “Nelly” managed to keep a safe margin over Ecuador’s Paula Milena Torres, who took bronze in 2h42:44, leaving China’s Peng Li behind in fourth place (2h43:29). And it’s not over yet: the 34-year-old Fiamme Gialle athlete will return to compete next Saturday in the 20 km event. In the history of the World Championships, only two other Italian women have won at least three medals: Fiona May (two golds, one silver, one bronze in long jump) and Antonietta Di Martino (one silver and two bronzes in high jump).
Other Italian results: Nicole Colombi finished 11th (2h51:04), and Eleonora Giorgi 17th (2h58:50), after a 3.5-minute stop at the 13th km due to a third warning from judges.
In the men’s 35 km race walk, Riccardo Orsoni achieved a solid 8th place with a time of 2h31:39, earning a finalist’s spot. The 25-year-old from Cremona finished as the fourth European. Teodorico Caporaso was disqualified, while Matteo Giupponi retired, with disappointment over the absence of world record holder Massimo Stano, sidelined by a recent injury. Gold went to Canadian Evan Dunfee (2h28:22), already a two-time world bronze medallist in the 50 km, ahead of Brazil’s Caio Bonfim (2h28:55) and Japan’s Hayato Katsuki (2h29:16), who was cheered on by the crowd at the National Stadium.
“I’m happy to have brought home a medal that I was missing,” said Antonella Palmisano. “I’m also glad that María Pérez won. When she changed pace, I couldn’t keep up, but I can still say my part. The beauty of sport is this: I found a true friend in her, she gave me back motivation after last year’s disappointment, and we even trained together.”
“In the last 12 kilometers,” admitted Palmisano, “I had constant cramps at every turn, in my feet and legs. I even thought about stopping, but I kept telling myself it couldn’t be like Paris. Despite everything, I wanted to reach the finish line. It’s wonderful to see people in this stadium, which had been empty at the Olympics. The 35 km was a challenge that started almost as a game, with my husband-coach Lorenzo Dessi, and I’m happy also for him.”
Athletics World Championships: Fabbri reaches shot put final, mixed 4x400 relay advances
The Italian team secured its first finals at the World Championships in Tokyo. Leonardo Fabbri qualified in the shot put (20.95 m) and will return for the final at 14:10 CET, while Nick Ponzio (20.34 m) and Zane Weir (19.89 m) were eliminated. The mixed 4x400 relay team (Edoardo Scotti, Anna Polinari, Vladimir Aceti, Alice Mangione) advanced with a time of 3:11.20 and will run the final at 15:20 CET. In discus, Daisy Osakue was eliminated in the qualifiers with 58.56 m.
