The Italians’ amazing sporting summer has continued with two athletics golds in Tokyo.
Winning Euro 2020 clearly wasn’t the extent of Italy’s sporting ambitions this summer, although two gold medals on the first three days of the Olympic athletics competition were wholly unexpected.
Texas-born Marcell Jacobs, now a resident of Rome and a proud Italian, was barely in the conversation over potential medallists in the men’s 100 metres but, after breaking two national records to make the final, he lowered it a third time to clinch a shock gold.
And the first man to congratulate him was compatriot Gianmarco Tamberi who, just minutes earlier, had won high-jump gold. Tamberi, who hadn’t cleared 2.33m since 2016, found an extra four centimetres when it mattered and tied with Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim as the two men agreed to share top spot on the podium rather than go for an outright winner.
Team GB Continues to Impress
The British track and field aces were slower into their stride – Dina Asher-Smith’s injury was painful enough, but her agonised interview afterwards was heartbreaking – but elsewhere in Japan the successes have been piling up.
The swimming and cycling triumphs have been well chronicled – and the cycling gold rush won’t have ended in the BMX pit either – but there was also a gold, silver and two bronzes from the British equestrian team.
But as big as all of those headline makers were, surely they have been eclipsed by Emily Campbell, a woman who first picked up a barbell only five years ago and is now an Olympic silver-medal winner in weightlifting. Campbell became Britain’s first ever female weightlifting medallist.
KJT to Join Lewis and Ennis-Hill in Record Books?
Team GB have to fancy a medal in the women’s 800 metres with three runners making it through the final. However, the red-hot 1/3 favourite is American sensation Athing Mu with 12/1 shot Jemma Reekie the best fancied of the British contingent.
And we don’t have too long to wait until the heptathlon gets underway with Katerina Johnson-Thompson heading for the first of those seven events on Wednesday, desperate to add gold to her world title, and follow previous golden girls Denise Lewis and Jessica Ennis-Hill into Olympic folklore.
Sailors and Boxers Set for Final Showdowns
British medal interest extends far beyond the athletics stadium, notably in the velodrome, the boxing ring and out on the waves as we head into the last few days of Olympics action.
Team GB’s first fighter going for gold will be welterweight Pat McCormack, rated a 4/17 chance against Cuba’s Roniel Iglesias. It isn’t often that British boxers get favouritism against amateur boxing masters Cuba, and normal service is resumed in the subsequent light-heavyweight final where Ben Whittaker is an 8/5 shot against Cuban big-hitter Arlen Lopez, 5/11.
Meanwhile, out in Enoshima Harbour there are six medals up for grabs after sailing had to be cancelled on Monday because of light winds.
Among Britain’s best hopes are Giles Scott, who leads the Finn class after qualifying, and Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre, who head the rankings in the women’s 470 while Dylan Fletcher and Stuart Bithell are four points off gold in the 49er.
*All odds correct at time of writing