Double European U18 gold medallist Elisa Valensin is among the next generation of Italian athletes ready to follow in the illustrious spike marks of the senior athletes who dominated the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships.
Valensin, who turned 18 on 1 January, features in the latest episode of the My Fire series of mini documentaries on the European Athletics YouTube channel, taking viewers behind the scenes with some of the continent’s most talented athletes.
The Italian sprinter was one of the stars of the Banska Bystrica 2024 European Athletics U18 Championships, taking women’s 200m gold in a championship best performance of 23.09, before anchoring Italy to women’s medley relay gold in a new European U18 best time of 2:05.23.
“This was one of the best days of my life,” says Valensin after securing her second gold. She went on to place sixth in the women’s 400m (52.69) at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Peru, Lima, still aged 17.
This year, Valensin is expected to be on another medal charge with the Tampere 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships firmly in her sights.
Chris Broadbent for European Athletics