2025 World Athletics Championships: Antonella Palmisano wins silver in the 35km race.

Tokyo, September 13, 2025 - Antonella Palmisano gave Italy a silver medal in the 35k walk at the Tokyo 2025 World Championships . The Italian walker, 2021 Olympic champion in the 20k, finished the race in 2 hours 42:24. The gold medal went to Spain's Maria Perez , who crossed the finish line in 2 hours 39:01. Paula Milena Torres took the bronze medal in 2 hours 42:44.

"I'm happy to have brought home a medal that I was missing, and I'm also happy that Maria Perez, a true friend, won. I wasn't there for her change of pace, but I can still have my say," commented Palmisano, world runner-up. "Maria gave me renewed motivation after last year's disappointment [at the Paris Olympics], and we even trained together," explained the walker from Mottola, a member of the Fiamme Gialle, earning her third world championship podium after bronze medals in 2017 and 2023.

"During the last twelve kilometers , I had constant cramps at every turn , in my feet and legs. I even thought about stopping, but I kept telling myself that it couldn't be like Paris, and despite everything, I wanted to get to the finish line. It's nice to see people in this stadium, which I found empty at the Games. The 35 km is a challenge that I started as a joke, with my husband and coach Lorenzo Dessi (a former race walker), and I'm happy for him too."

Nicole Colombi (2 hours 51'04) was eleventh and Eleonora Giorgi (2 hours 58'50) seventeenth, penalized by a three and a half minute stop following the judges' third warning for irregular running.