The redemption day for swimming and athletics. The two expeditions, which until yesterday failed in the field and were further poisoned by controversies (Magnini) and doping cases (Schwazer) find the coveted medal of honor on the same day. It was really the last chance with both Martina Grimaldi (although today in the men's 10 km there is also Valerio Cleri) but above all with Fabrizio Donato and Daniele Greco, both finalists in the triple jump and really the last trump cards of the blue athletics, given the forced absence of Schwazer in the 50 km walk scheduled for Saturday.
Between the two blues at the end it is the veteran Donato who wins and takes a historic bronze medal giving himself the most beautiful gift on the eve of his 36th birthday (he will turn it on August 14th), after a career studded with successes, especially indoors, but also with many breaks and injuries. At the leap of life, marked three times, the Lazio financier made it: 17,48 metres, behind only the US favorites Taylor and Claye. The 23-year-old Daniele Greco from Puglia remains just off the podium, but never a wooden medal was less bitter (unlike the very bitter ones of Vanessa Ferrari e Tania Cagnotto), as he himself admits: “In the end I'm fourth behind another Italian. Either he or I could have been on the podium and Fabrizio deserved it after a long career, I hope to be able to do another three Olympics. For many, the wooden medal would be a setback, it gives me great grit and a great desire to establish myself internationally".
Wonderful words, full of fair play and positivity, which make the blue evening even more beautiful. Then there was also room for the medalist's emotions, visibly moved: “It's been a very difficult month, first with the back injury, then the left tendon. I took a painkiller before the race to better tolerate the pain. Before each jump I felt bad. I gave myself a nice gift – concluded Donato – and perhaps at 36 he is worth more. I put the medal around my neck".
Therefore, the longed-for medal arrives for Italian athletics at the very last opportunity, and right after the Schwazer case which has clearly shaken the whole environment, from athletes to federal top management. Fabrizio Donato's is the first and will probably remain the only one of this edition for Italy, while two arrived in Beijing 2008, both in the march with the South Tyrolean and Elisa Rigaudo. To find the last Olympic podium conquered on the platforms inside the stadium (not that those in walking are worth less...) however, we must go back to four years earlier, in Athens, when Giuseppe Gibilisco in turn won the bronze in the auction.
In short, Italian athletics is going through a very serious crisis, on which it is necessary to reflect beyond the Schwazer case (see also the problems of Howe and Di Martino and the non-existent generational change), but once again, with all the pride and grit of a 36-year-old, he didn't fail to clock in. AND Daniele Greco's fourth place is a nice passing of the baton which leaves some good hope in a future that appears increasingly dark.
