Italy’s Rebecca D'Alessandro judged her race to perfection as she won gold in the women’s 5000m race walk at the European Athletics U18 Championships on Sunday (19).
It gave the home nation the perfect start to the final day of action at the Stadio Raul Guidobaldi.
She tracked leader Ana Gonzalez of Spain to the halfway point before making her move, quickly separating herself from the pack.
It was a move that broke Gonzalez, who began to fade from medal contention, eventually finishing in seventh. Instead, her Spanish teammate Paula Elvira, D’Alessandro’s compatriot Caterina Carissimi, and Greece’s Clara Gero settled into the chase.
D’Alessandro only had eyes for gold, though, and she extended her advantage over the closing laps, roared on by an appreciative home crowd, crossing the line in 22:58.95.
Elvira managed to shake off the rest of the pack to take silver in 23:18.98, with Carissimi adding another Italian medal by claiming bronze in 23:21.37.
"I only wanted to have a good race"
"I would like to thank my coach Nicola Piro, my family and friends who made this success possible," said the gold medallist afterwards.
"And also my training partner Serena Di Fabio, who won the gold medal at the U18 European championships two years ago - she always told me to believe that it is possible. I get a lot of inspiration in my training group. Serena is also here in the stadium to support me.
"Having my coach here helped me a lot. At the national championships I had a bad race, so coming here I did not think about the gold medal, I only wanted to have a good race.
"This gold medal came totally unexpected, yet it was a dream. I cannot believe it. I am totally over the moon. This morning, my legs felt really good so I decided to go with a fast pace and to go in front."
*Geoblocking restrictions apply in territories where Rieti 2026 is being covered by a national broadcaster