Catanzaro, Edoardo Alfieri double gold in the 20 km walk at the Gothenburg World Championships

John

By John

The curtain falls on the 25th edition of the World Masters Athletics Championships held in Sweden with one of the most attended events ever with more than 8000 athletes and a record number of 111 nations. Italy is the protagonist with 307 registered athletes who have certainly engraved their name in the roll of honor of the international masters athletics championships.

Gothenburg, the stage for numerous races between the track and the road, closes the doors of these 13 days of competitions, from 13 to 25 August. The last race on the programme is the 20 km road march held in Slottsskogen City Park adjacent to it Ullevi Stadium on a very small course of 500m round trip, quite narrow, especially on the curves in the buoy areas, with 150 starters representing 9 racing categories M35-M80 and 45 nations. For Italy and Calabria, Edward Standard Bearers registered with the Centro Sportivo Giovanile CZ lido respects the predictions of the eve and hits the desired goal: the double title of individual world champion and the title of team world champion thanks to his excellent time despite adverse stormy conditions that did not worry him. He stops the clock at 1 hour: 56 minutes: 42 seconds relegating the opponents of his category such as the French Marc Haumesser in second place with an advantage of over two minutes and the Polish Leszek BEHOUNEK in third with a gap of three and a half minutes. . His Italian teammates place themselves in 4th place Gabriele Caldarelli and on the 9th Franco Venturi of the Exposed.

Two years ago, Edoardo Alfieri returned from the Finnish World Championships with a poker of 4 gold medals, 3 individual in the 5-10-20 km and the team gold in the 10 km. The palmares of these 2024 World Championships make him return to Italy with 2 bronze medals in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters and 3 gold medals in the 20 km individual and in the 10 and 20 km team of the heel and toe discipline. It is true that the results make us rejoice and

bring athlete and club to the throne of Olympus with the symbolic medals and the joy of listening to the Italian national anthem. And then…..behind these moments of glory what is there: training under the sun, under the cold, under the rain for a great passion and love for athletics with the club on the seashore that goes making many sacrifices to guarantee him the sporting activity and to make him compete outside the regional walls, which have brought the pride of a sports club to be present on the various podiums of Italy of the different Italian Championships but at a high price as the Institutions do not help this noble but poor sport.

For this reason, many Calabrian athletes abandon the region to find the right place in clubs in northern Italy.