European Athletics Championships: Battocletti wins gold in the 10,000 metres
The Italian athlete has repeated her victory in the 5,000 metres and has also won the gold medal in the double distance
Nadia Battocletti has repeated her victory in the 5,000 metres and won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. The middle-distance runner from Trentino took the top spot on the podium with a time of 31:41.18. In second place was Maureen Koster of the Netherlands (31:45.76), with Jana Van Lent of Belgium taking bronze (31:47.81). This is the fourth European gold for the Italian team in Birmingham, and the second for Nadia.
“A lovely day, I had a brilliant time”
“It was a wonderful day, I had a brilliant time. The recovery wasn’t that intense, but I’m pleased to have reaped the rewards this month. I must thank my team for looking after me, the whole town of Cavareno, and I’m sending a kiss to the whole of Italia. The girls ran a slightly tougher race than the 5,000 metres; I wanted to make a couple of moves but they got there first, so I said, ‘Oh well, go ahead’.” These were Nadia Battocletti’s words to Rai after her victory.
The Italian athlete thanked her father at the finish line: “I’m at this level partly thanks to my dad, who put the whole team together; he’s the one who takes care of everything, and he understands me instantly just by looking at me. It’s heart-warming to be surrounded by such affection.” “I should tell myself, ‘Nadia, look, you’re really strong.’ I’m not saying I don’t believe it, but I should believe it even more,” she concluded.
