Reigning Olympic 10,000m silver medallist Nadia Battocletti managed a hat trick of 5000m victories at the European Athletics Team Championships as the Italian ace won Friday’s (27) race in style following her wins in Silesia 2021 and 2023 to remain unbeaten at this competition.
The Madrid 2025 European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division is being streamed live on the European Athletics website courtesy of the Eurovision Sport Platform.
When the gun went off it was the 24-year-old Italian who took the lead, setting a pedestrian early pace while Spain’s Marta García, Battocletti’s toughest rival on paper started out in fifth; the opening couple of kilometre were covered at an extremely slow cadence, 3:27.73 and 6:55.00.
Devasting kick
Great Britain’s Calli Hauger-Thackery grew impatient with the pace and sped past his rivals some six laps left; the Briton heated up the cadence as the third kilometre was timed in 3:11.58 and the fourth became a much brisker 2:59.90 with Hauger-Thackery always at the helm and Battocletti, Diana Van Es of the Netherlands and García in very close attendance.
The Italian regained the lead with 600m to go with the Spaniard on her shoulder; just after the bell Battocletti began to increase gradually her cadence and Garcia simply was unable to respond to the 25-year-old Italian’s change of speed.
Battocletti extending clearly her winning margin over the closing 200m. The current European 5000 and 10,000m devastating kick meant she covered the closing lap in a frantic 57.61 clocking – 2:44.51 the last 1000m - for a 15:56.01 finishing time while García took second timed in 15:58.53 and Van Es finished third with a 15:59.41 performance.
Emeterio Valiente for European Athletics