The European Indoor Athletics Championships in Istanbul have recently concluded, where the Italian national team collected 6 medals with 2 golds and 4 silvers, was 4th in the medal table (third in the number of medals won) and placed 27 athletes in the finals (including the relay) out of the 49 who took to the track. Three Italian records and two best European performances of the year arrived.

We have already mentioned Samuele Ceccarelli and Marcell Jacobs gold and silver in the 60 meters and Zane Weir gold in the shot put. The other medals that came yesterday were all women's: Larissa Iapichino silver in the long jump, Dariya Derkach silver in the triple jump and silver in the 4x400 relay with Alice Mangione, Ayomide Folorunso, Anna Polinari and Eleonora Marchiando.

Larissa Iapichino's medal with a measure of 6.97, the Italian indoor overall record, launches her into the future, frees her from the ballast of her mother's records (Fiona May 6.91 in 1998) and from the endless technical doubts (change of coach and take-off foot). Now you can think about the future. Larissa made it big, with a long jump like that.

Dariya Derkach, on the other hand, is almost 30 years old, has been jumping forever but in the triple jump she only now enters the podium. In Istanbul finally stable on 14 meters, here she is second with 14.20.

More women and what super women! The 4x400 relay is a masterpiece of athletic engineering, with tactics, heart and legs distributed in the right doses. Holland is as favored as Napoli in the championship, you have to think about bringing home second place. Alice Mangione struggles with Ireland's Becker, Ayomide Folorunso runs the fastest split (51.69) but we are still third. Anna Polinari runs the best split time, almost falls even on Holland, and so Eleonora Marchiando just has to lock up silver. Extra bonus, the Italian record with 3'28"61.