But since we are also optimistic we try to look at the glass half full on that hot Eugene afternoon.

And in that glass there is today a nice 37-year-old (yes you read that right, one who is often relegated to the Master category in Italy, in the results) a hard worker and walking lover, who obtained a splendid eighth place in 1:29:54 at seven seconds from her personal best, but in front of names that had made the history of race walking.

We remember only two: Ana Cabecinha and that Glenda Morejon who in La Coruna a few years ago made a stratospheric result, but never repeated.

Valentina Trapletti today was the flag of the italian race walking iwith the best result of her long career.

She declares herself "very happy for her placement, annoyed for not having improved".

We do not know if his previous coach, Enzo Fiorillo, or the current one, Alessandro Gandellini, had bet one coffee with someone for a similar placement in Eugene; we certainly know (and we also wrote about it in the previews of July 12) that we had said that with an under 1:29:00 she could have reached the top ten. We were also wrong on the time, but we were not wrong on the placement. Now someone will have to offer that famous coffee, at least!

But the medal always has another face. And today it is the negative one on which Nicole Colombi's face is stamped.

We had said and repeated it, the walk of the nice athlete from Bergamo is absolutely not accepted at the international level.

That knee never fully extended from the moment of contact of the heel with the ground and up to the vertical, is her worry.

But, as is well known, saying good things makes everyone happy, saying less beautiful things unfortunately no one is listened to. Meanwhile, today Nicole suffers a further disqualification after the Pescara Penalty Zone in January.

If she had worked with her coach on the technique (and we had been listened to) perhaps today this disqualification would not have been such.

When out of seven judges ((unfortunately one was stopped by Covid19)) in the competition seven yellow paddles and five red cards arrive for the same infraction, obviously there must be some problem.

And let's go to the boys.

Probably now we will lose a friend, but Francesco Fortunato cannot be satisfied with 1:22:50 and a 15th place.

He was certainly in good company with other pompous names who occupied the positions between 13th and 17th place.

We don't understand how after last year's Podebrady blast (1:19:43) he returned to this season's lacklustre performances, whose high pitch was La Coruna with a modest 1:21:28. Repeating Podebrady 2021 was equivalent to sixth place, but we would also have satisfied ourselves with seeing him in the same placement of Valentina Trapletti.

Luckily, at least from a technical point of view, there were no problems.

Gianluca Picchiottino is without a vote. Far from the personal best (1:21:36) of La Coruna of 2019 in 1:28:33 which relegates him to thirty-second position. Really too little.

Now we just have to wait for the morning of July 24 and cross our fingers for our dreams to come true!