Francesco Pernici broke the oldest Italian record on the books in the men’s 800m with victory at the Meeting Stanislas Nancy, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting, in Tomblaine on Friday (3) evening.
Pernici stopped the clock at 1:43.60, a mark which eclipsed the 53-year-old Italian record of 1:43.7 set by Marcello Fiasconaro in 1973 and was also a world record at the time.
The 23-year-old came close to breaking Fiasconaro’s Italian record in the semifinals at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo where he clocked 1:43.84. He also clocked 1:43.97 in the Rome Diamond League last month before taking ownership of the record last night.
"I had a huge adrenaline rush after finishing and I felt a truly powerful emotion. In an instant, I felt like I could see the entire path that had brought me here unfold, a strange but beautiful feeling. I did it, I succeeded. I started thinking about the record three years ago; it was a dream, but last season it became a goal.
“I knew I was capable of breaking the Italian record because I've worked really hard in the last few weeks. I expected to do it this time; it was the right opportunity,” said Pernici as quoted by FIDAL.
In an excellent race in terms of depth, Pernici led three athletes under the 1:44-barrier. France’s Louey Ouerrat and Spain’s David Barroso clocked 1:43.81 and 1:43.83 respectively, both lifetime bests as well as the first sub-1:44 performances of their respective careers.
And in the context of the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham from 10-16 August, Pernici moves to equal second on the 2026 European list along with Niels Laros and behind Great Britain’s Max Burgin with 1:42.98.
Pernici was the only non-French winner in the middle distance events in Tomblaine: European indoor silver medallist Clara Liberman won the 800m in 1:58.90 ahead of teammate Charlotte Dumas in 1:59.47 and Anas Lagity Chaoudar and Adele Gay took the victories in the men’s and women’s 1500m in 3:31.40 and 4:01.21 respectively.
Other highlights included five-time world champion Pawel Fajdek continuing his comeback from shoulder surgery with victory in the men’s hammer with a season’s best of 82.09m and his Polish teammate Pia Skrzyszowska clocking 12.44 in the 100m hurdles, the fourth fastest time of her career so far.
2026 European 800m list
1:42.98 – Max Burgin (GBR)
1:43.60 – Niels Laros (NED)
1:43.60 – Francesco Pernici (ITA)
1:43.61 – Tobias Grønstad (NOR)
1:43.66 – Gabriel Tual (FRA)
1:43.70 – Ben Pattison (GBR)
1:43.80 – Mark English (IRL)
1:43.80 – Louey Ouerrat (FRA)
1:43.83 – Eliott Crestan (BEL)
1:43.83 – David Barroso (ESP)