![[Translate to English:]](/fileadmin/IDL_Rome/_processed_/7/e/csm_selfie_oly_e95c1d97aa.jpeg "[Translate to English:]")
Olympic and world medallists spoke to the media representatives from all over the world on the eve of the 44th edition of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea at the Olympic Stadium in the Italian capital.
Olympic 200 metres champion Letsile Tebogo became the first African sprinter to win the Olympic 200 metres gold medal in Paris setting the continental record with 19.46. Tens of thousands of people packed the Gaborone stadium to celebrate Tebogo, who won the first ever Olympic gold medal for Botswana. Despite celebrations the 21-year-old sprinter continued his successful season with two more Diamond League wins in the 200m in Lausanne in 19.64 and Silesia in 19.83.
Letsile Tebogo: “The Olympics have finished. I celebrated the gold medal, but I will give my best tomorrow. I cannot predict any time but with Fred Kerley in the race I can expect a fast race. I think Noah Lyles has changed the sport. I have not done that yet. Noah has been consistent throughout the years. He is still the face of athletics. My mother helped me decide to become an athlete. I was playing football before, but she guided me into athletics”.
Ahead of competing in the 100m at the Rome Diamond League, 200m Olympic Champion Letsile Tebogo was received by Pope Francis in the Vatican on Wednesday. Tebogo asked the Pope to pray for his mother, who passed away in May. The Pope, as a sign of friendship, signed the shoes Tebogo competed in Paris and was presented with a bib for the Diamond League with 'Francesco' on. “It was amazing to meet the Pope. It’s something I dreamed of as a child. The dream came true. I am honoured”.
Tebogo will run the 100 metres in Rome against 2021 Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, two-time Olympic gold medallist Fred Kerley, Ackeem Blake and Ferdinand Omanyala in one of the most eagerly anticipated races of this year’s Golden Gala.
Nina Kennedy will compete for the first time since her Olympic gold medal in the women’s pole vault with 4.90m. The Paris Olympic Games were very successful for Australia, who won seven medals in athletics and a total of 59 medals in all sport disciplines. Six of the seven athletics medals were won by female athletes. Kennedy explained the reason why Australian women were so successful at the Paris Olympics.
Nina Kennedy: “Girls dominated in Paris. Almost every medallist in athletics and swimming were female. A lot of men’s athletes go to sport disciplines like rugby or cricket. Women choose Olympic sports like athletics and swimming. We did it awesome”.
Tara Davis Woodhall won gold medals in the women’s long jump at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow and at the Olympic Games in Paris. It’s going to be a special week for Davis Woodhall’s family, as her husband Hunter Woodhall is one of favourites to win the gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Tara Davis Woodhall: “Hunter has a target on his back at the Paralympic Games. He is going to be hunted this year. In the past I struggled a lot as I had to overcome mental health problems, but now I want to show my smile and I am going to share the joy of life. I have worked so hard this year to be in the position I am today. Every time I touch the 7 metres is proof for what I have been working during the whole season. Seven metres come easy. I want to change the long jump to make 7 metres not so difficult for women”.
Another big highlight of this year’s edition of the Golden Gala is the men’s shot put which features three-time Olympic champion and world record holder Ryan Crouser, two-time world champion and Olympic silver medallist Joe Kovacs and European champion Leonardo Fabbri. Crouser could become the third athlete in history to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same discipline in Los Angeles in 2028. Only US legends Carl Lewis and Al Oerter achieved this feat in the history of the Olympic Games. Crouser is aiming to become the first shot putter to break the 22 metres barrier in the history of the Golden Gala.
Ryan Crouser: “It would be a dream come true to end my career with the Olympic Games on home soil as an American athlete. I am now focusing on competition to competition. It worked so well so far. Leonardo Fabbri is going to be the most excited man in the stadium. It’s good for the event to have a local athlete in the field. He is the man to be in Rome. I expect an extremely good competition. Kovacs is shaking the jet-lag coming from Silesia”.
Crouser could also celebrate the gold medal of Roje Stona in the men’s discus throw. Stona is coached by Crouser at the Arkansas University.
“Coaching Stona was very rewarding. It was very exciting time. It brings a new level of excitement. Shot put and discus throw vary in the execution of the technique, but training and coaching especially on the mental side are very similar. Coaching him has helped me solidify the confidence in myself. Coaching is more stressful than being an athlete”.
by Diego Sampaolo
