Palmisano wins silver in the 35km walk at the World Athletics Championships.
At 34, Antonella Palmisano is back in the spotlight in world race walking . Four years after winning Olympic gold in Japan and eight years after winning bronze at the 2017 World Championships in London, the athlete from Puglia won silver in the 35 km at the Tokyo World Championships . She ran a courageous race, starting in the lead and holding on until Spain's Maria Perez—five years younger than her and a close friend—gained pace. Palmisano finished in an exhausted 2:42:24 .
Perez himself is waiting for her at the finish line : he hugs her, supports her, helps her sit down, and even unties her shoes. "Ours is a true friendship," says Antonella, in a wheelchair, too weak to stand. " Maria motivates me and understands me . We trained together partly in Livigno and partly at her place in Seville and Granada. She was the one who gave me back my motivation after the disappointment of the Paris Olympics ." Maria, there at her side with teary eyes: "We are like Alcaraz and Sinner!"
A result that represents a significant milestone in the Italian athlete's career, achieved despite cramps and a gastric problem that forced her to stop taking supplements after about an hour and a quarter of the race. The medal also makes her mother in Puglia happy—the creator of the crocheted flower the athlete wears in her hair—and revitalizes Palmisano's pursuit of the 2028 Los Angeles Games . "This medal shows that I can still have my say. The laurels of race walking in Italy are increasingly less respected than other medals ; they always show us off and know us too little."
Her husband Lorenzo, who is also a coach, comments: «We tell each other to go to hell once a day - he smiles - but if I present Los Angeles to her in the form of a challenge, I'm sure she'll be up for it !».
Affari Italiani
