Azzurra Dosso: the aspiration to turn Italy into the Florida of athletics
Italian sprinter Zaynab Dosso has expressed her hopes for Italy to become the go-to training ground for athletes, comparing it to the state of Florida in the United States. Dosso made this statement during the gathering of the Italian relay teams at the Stadio dei Marmi, which was used for the first time by the national team after undergoing renovations in preparation for the European Championships in Rome. The goal for both the men’s and women’s relay teams is to secure a spot in the Paris Olympics at the World Relays in Nassau, Bahamas, on Saturday, May 4th and Sunday, May 5th. Dosso’s personal objectives are clear as well, as she stated that the indoor world championships in Glasgow have given her “emotional tranquility”. She continued, “Now all we need to do is dream big. But with the relay at the Olympics, we want to replicate or even surpass our fourth-place finish at the Budapest World Championships”. Before Paris, however, there will not only be Nassau, but also the European Championships in Rome. “It will be a challenging season, never before have we had three consecutive events like this,” explained Filippo di Mulo, head of Italian sprinting. “In Nassau, we have our first opportunity to qualify for Paris, but we also have a safety net with last year’s performances. Relays are always unpredictable, but we remain positive”. Di Mulo also described Filippo Tortu’s debut in the 100m with a time of 10.15 as “an excellent performance” in preparation for the rest of the year, where the men’s 4x100m relay team aims to repeat their gold medal success from Tokyo. “We will try to meet expectations,” concluded Lorenzo Patta, Olympic champion in Tokyo. “Perhaps we started off too strong with a gold in Japan,” he added with a laugh, “but we want to replicate that success”.