Marcell Jacobs in Budapest

There will be 22 Azzurri competing on the first day of the World Championships in Budapest. The opening awards medals right away: it begins in the majestic Heroes’ Square, one of the symbols of the Hungarian capital, with the men’s 20-kilometer march starting at 8:50 a.m. with Olympic champion Massimo Stano (as well as ‘thirty-five’ world champion), Podebrady European Cup winner Francesco Fortunato and European U23 silver medalist Andrea Cosi, competing on the one-kilometer circuit to be repeated twenty times. Japan’s reigning world champion Toshikazu Yamanishi is also in the match. From 10:30 a.m. the competitions start at the stadium, the National Athletics Centre in the international name, Nemzeti Atlétikai Központ in the Hungarian language, equipped with nine lanes and a capacity of about 35 thousand spectators. Immediately on the platform the two weightlifters Zane Weir (fresh of 22.15) and Leonardo Fabbri, respectively European indoor gold medalist and winner of the Golden Gala in Florence, in search of 21.40 that qualifies directly for the final: they try in 37, they will succeed in 12. At 11.05 the battery of the mixed 4×400: not at all easy the task of the Italian quartet (whose composition will be announced later) called to challenge formations listed as the United States, Dominican Republic, Great Britain and Belgium. The first three of the two batteries plus two recovery times pass, the order of the fractions being the now classic man-woman-man-woman.

At 11:35 a.m. the 3000 steeplechase batteries with the Zoghlami twins: Osama is in the second with Moroccan Olympic and world champion Soufiane El Bakkali, Ala in the third with world record holder Lamecha Girma (Ethiopia). No repechage, the top 5 from each battery land in the finals. At 12:25 p.m. the focus is all on the long jump platform with the qualifying round of Larissa Iapichino, fresh off three consecutive Diamond League victories (Florence, Stockholm, Monte Carlo) and gold at the U23 European Championships: 6.80 is the direct pass figure, or, as usual, a place among the 12 is needed to be maintained. Saturday morning in the blue key ends with the women’s 1500 batteries (from 1:15 p.m.), which promote the top 6 to the semifinals: Gaia Sabbatini meets multiple world record holder Faith Kipyegon, in the other batteries Sintayehu Vissa and Ludovica Cavalli are engaged.

The evening session reopens at 7:02 p.m. with the 1500, this time in the men’s, again with three Italian athletes, none of them in battery with Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen: Joao Bussotti in the second, Pietro Arese in the third with Spaniard Mo Katir, Ossama Meslek in the fourth. Headlights on the triple platform at 7:37 p.m. for the qualifying round: Eugene finalist Emmanuel Ihemeje (fifth in 2022) and Tobia Bocchi aim for the 17.15 that automatically promotes. At 7:43 p.m., here is one of the most anticipated moments, the 100-meter batteries with Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs and European indoor 60 champion Samuele Ceccarelli: the composition of the respective batteries will be known only after the morning preliminary round. Weight finals (at 8:37 p.m.) and the 4×400 mixed relay (at 9:49 p.m.) hoping for shades of blue.