On Saturday, May 6, 2017, in the Italian regions, was the first test of the regional phase of the Italian Clubs Championships, which included walk events on the classic 10,000m track for men and 5,000m track for women.
We remembers that the Clubs Championship has always been one of the most experienced regional events in Italian athletics, and that it measures the "statu quo" of the athletics on the territory.
The battles between individual clubs to gain access to subsequent national phases sometimes are similar to a football derby and this is the beautiful of the Clubs Championship.
The only not totally positive side, at least for the two walk events, is given by the numerical presence that is very, sometimes too much, jagged on the territory.
Faced with races in regions such as Lombardy (24 women and 15 men) and Tuscany (21 women and 13 men) with numbers of athletes at the start of absolute interest in other regions the presence is sometimes less than three athletes, which also leads to influence the athlete's stimuli to achieve high-level technical performance to best contribute to their club's score.
The most striking example is that of Campania, Naples, in the race of the
10.000m track walk men
Certainly, the race made by Francesco Fortunato on the 10.000m with the only company of a 36-year-old from his own club (Entreprise Sport & Service) and finished in 40:33.39 can satisfy him up to a point. This year he has already established the personal best of 39:44.14.
However, having obtained a result of this kind in these conditions he says long on the current state of the young athlete of Puglia team-mate of Antonella Palmisano and coached by Patrizio Parcesepe.
But the best result in Italy in this first test of the regional phase was that of Leonardo Dei Tos who in Bolzano (they were 5 at the start) got the new personal best on 10.000m in 40:06.73 (previous of 40:21.50 obtained in Bovisio Masciago on April 23, 2017
These are the only results below 41:00.00. Federico Tontodonati in Torino instead got the time of 41:27.28 who put him in third place in this ideal ranking at a distance.
5.000m track walk women
Race is very different in women.
The distant battle between Lombardy athletes (Valentina Trapletti, Sibilla Di Vincenzo and Nicole Colombi) and those of Lazio (Diana Cacciotti and MariaVittoria Becchetti) resolved in favor of the two over-30 of Lombardy.
Valentina Trapletti, with the result of Bergamo, leads the national ranking of this stage in 22:03.30 while Sibilla Di Vincenzo follows in 22:04.18
Among those who instead competed in Rome won Diana Cacciotti in 22:54.59 (third overall in this ranking at distance) in front of Mariavittoria Becchetti (fourth in this ranking in 22.59.78).
These were the only four athletes to break the wall of 23:00.00.
Moreover Tatyana Gabellone racing in Matera (23:03.73), who in his go and back between Britain and Italy takes the luxury to do better than Nicole Colombi ending the race in Bergamo in 23:14.31.
In the sectio results we publish only those obtained in the most interesting chronometric stages (Naples, Bergamo, Bolzano, Rome, Matera), while the others can be consulted directly on Fidal's web-site.