today the 4×100 style wins silver – Corriere.it

And thank goodness they weren’t in shape. «In the relay races we are further behind than a year ago», had ruled Thomas Ceccon, our multipurpose jewel. And looking at the seasonal times, he was right. But the race is a race and the blues are now fixed in the world elite, when it matters they know what to do.

As the Italian 4×100 style relay composed by Alessandro Miressi, Manuel Frigo, Lorenzo Zazzeri and Thomas Ceccon (who replaced Deplano who competed this morning in heat) it is silver behind Australia in 3’10”49: it is Italy’s first medal at the Fukuoka World Cup and it was gold up to the last 15 metres, when Chalmers burns our Ceccon («But I did my personal anyway even if in the end I was tired, I could see Chalmers, but he was too strong», explains Thomas). It is the victory of a solid group (which also counts as a pass for the Paris Olympics, everyone’s real goal), already bronze a year ago at the Budapest World Championships and silver at the Tokyo Olympics.

Always there, when it counts. In their words there is only a little space for the lost gold (Frigo: “Sorry to lose for a little while, but we’re happy all the same, we did well, it was a somewhat complicated relay compared to other years”), satisfaction clearly prevails. Zazzeri, for example, who was stopped for three months at the end of last year due to an anaphylactic shock (with hospitalization and lots and lots of fear), is delighted: “It is silver that is worth gold, I’m sorry for my time trial, if I had been better maybe we would have won. Today we proved our strength to those who didn’t believe it.” Miressi has also regained his spirit, who a year ago felt like the weak link in the relay: «I’m focused on this World Cup, and I’m happy to be back at my level. I believed in it until the end, we were all 4 very good, Zazza is not to blame”.