On Saturday 17 February, the two walking events of the Indoor Absolute Italian Championships 2018 will take place on the Ancona palaindoor track.
The competitions will take place in the afternoon with the following times:
- 3.30pm: 3.000m indoor women
- 3.50pm: 5.000m indoor men
We are sorry to say, but these championships, with the low participation in particular in the male category, are likely to be a photocopy of the recent Indoor Championships U23 and U20, held just 15 days ago in the same facility.
Eighteen athletes in the entry list (7 in men and 11 in women) and the 45% just competed during the Indoor Championships U23 and U20. In fact four men (Stefano Chiesa, Giacomo Brandi, Ettore Grillo and Davide Marchesi) and as many women (Eleonora Dominici, Lidia Barcella, Martina Ansaldi and Giulia Imbesi) will repeat themselves after 15 days.
It is therefore worth focusing on new entries.
Male race
In addition to the athletes already indicated, three athletes will be in the game, two of which have already competed with alternating fortunes this season.
This is primarily Gregorio Angelini who has already competed in Grosseto on Jan. 28, 2018 on 35km completing it in 2:46:19 while he did not finish on Jan. 15, 2018 in Marathon (GRE) the 50km valid for the Greeks Championships Open.
Secondly, Leonardo dei Tos, who in Grosseto on Jan.28, 2018, back from an influence not yet disposed of, was stopped towards the 30th km.
Who has not yet competed is Francesco Fortunato who will be for the first time in 2018 at the start of a race.
The three have the following personal best on the 5.000m indoor walk:
- Francesco Fortunato: 18:59.06 (established in Ancona on Feb. 18, 2017)
- Leonardo dei Tos: 19:16.34 (established in Padua on Feb. 21, 2015)
- Gregorio Angelini: 20:57:05 (established in Lyon, FRA on Feb. 28, 2015)
Female race
In addition to the athletes already mentioned, the particular interest is on Antonella Palmisano, in her first race of 2018.
At the first race of the season is also Diana Cacciotti, while Nicole Colombi has already obtained a good 48:42 on the 10km road race on Feb. 4, 2018 in Genoa in the Frigerio Trophy, behind Qieyang Shenijie (CHN) and Lu Xiuzhi (CHN), quite famous names in the international parterre.
The three have the following personal best on the 3.000m indoor walk:
- Antonella Palmisano: 12:05.28 (established in Padua on Feb. 21, 2015)
- Nicole Colombi: 13:12.19 (established in Ancona on Feb. 6, 2016)
- Diana Cacciotti: 16:35.02 (established in Ancona on Feb. 18, 2012) when she was still U18
A very new name is that of Fatima Lotfi (born in 1992 in the cover photo together with Antonella Palmisano) that comes to race walk on solicitation of Patrizio Parcesepe, coach of Antonella Palmisano, Francesco Fortunato, Andrea Agrusti, Mariavittoria Becchetti and finally Massimo Stano the husband of the neo-walker. In practice, the "ParceTeam", as the athletes themselves love to call it.
In walking environment there is a lot of good news about Lotfi who have a past as a middle-distance runner behind and now tries to reconvert to race walk as other athletes in the past have already tried.
Meanwhile, she is in entry list with a personal best of 13:57.75 (outdoor - recently established on Feb. 4, 2018 in Rome) that puts her behind Palmisano, Colombi and Dominici.
If they're roses they'll bloom.
Meanwhile, congratulations to Patrizio Parcesepe for trying as other coaches previously (remember a few years ago Gianni Perricelli with Margherita Crosta) this experience.
Mandatory favorites are: Franceso Fortunato in men and Antonella Palmisano in women.