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Palmisano hands Italy perfect Euro start with race walk victory / Photo: © AFP
Palmisano hands Italy perfect Euro start with race walk victory
Antonella Palmisano handed Italy the perfect start as hosts of the European athletics championships by winning the opening medal event, the 20km race walk, on Friday.
The 32-year-old reigning Olympic champion timed 1hr 28min 09sec around a stunning course in roasting conditions that saw many race walkers using ice packs around their necks.
Palmisano dominated the circuits of the Stadio dei Marmi, the warm-up stadium in Rome's Olympic complex surrounded by 60 four-metre (13ft) tall classical marble statues of athletes dating back to Italy's Fascist era under Benito Mussolini.
Lapping rivals at will, Palmisano finished with a celebratory lap in the Stadio Olimpico, draped in an Italian flag, to wild cheering from a small crowd.
There was an Italian 1-2 as Valentina Trapletti claimed silver in 1:28.37.
Spain's Laura Garcia-Caro thought she would be rounding out the podium, but celebrated too soon and was edged at the line by Ukraine's Lyudmila Olyanovska in a photo finish.
S. dos Reis--JDB
