Italy's track and field delegation opened the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham with bittersweet sentiment Monday, as the team wore black ribbons to honor the late Livio Berruti while navigating early triumphs and a crushing injury setback that may derail one of the nation's brightest medal hopes.
Why This Matters
• Shot put dominance: Three Italian throwers—Leonardo Fabbri, Nick Ponzio, and Zane Weir—advance to tonight's final at 21:33 CEST, with Fabbri entering as the defending champion and world leader.
• Major injury blow: Long jump world champion Mattia Furlani withdrew after one attempt due to a suspected recurrence of his right hamstring tear, casting doubt on his Olympic preparations.
• Memorial tribute: Athletes compete wearing mourning bands for Berruti, the 1960 Rome Olympic 200m gold medalist who died Sunday at 87.
Fabbri Eyes Second Consecutive European Title
Leonardo Fabbri, the Florence-born shot put specialist, sailed through Monday morning's qualification round with a commanding opening effort of 21.29m—the best mark of the session and well above the automatic qualification standard. The 26-year-old, who claimed gold at the Rome 2024 Euros with a championship record 22.45m, has been nearly untouchable this season, winning 10 of his first 12 outdoor competitions and posting a world-leading throw of 22.74m at the Diamond League meet in Eugene.
His bid for a repeat title tonight will be bolstered by two compatriots: Nick Ponzio, who qualified third with 20.48m, and Zane Weir, who scraped through in ninth position with 19.80m. The trio gives Italy an unusually strong contingent in an event where the nation has traditionally competed for podium places but rarely dominated in depth. A fourth Italian thrower, Riccardo Ferrara, did not advance.
Fabbri's consistency this year—including a Diamond League victory in Rome and the Italian national crown in Florence with 22.43m—positions him as the clear favorite heading into the final. His form represents a continuation of Italy's recent surge in field events, which helped the squad capture 11 gold medals and top the overall medal table at the Rome championships two years ago.
Furlani's Championship Ends Before It Begins
The opening day took a devastating turn when Mattia Furlani, the reigning world long jump champion, landed awkwardly on his first qualification attempt and immediately signaled distress. The 19-year-old left the Alexander Stadium in a wheelchair, visibly distraught, as medical staff attended to what appears to be a re-aggravation of his right hamstring injury.
Furlani originally tore the biceps femoris in late May during a Diamond League stop in Xiamen, China, and had spent the past ten weeks in careful rehabilitation. In interviews leading up to Birmingham, he acknowledged he was not at full strength and "would have preferred to arrive differently" to the European Championships. That caution proved prescient.
The injury casts a shadow over Italy's medal prospects in Birmingham and raises questions about Furlani's readiness for larger competitions on the horizon. Medical evaluations are ongoing to determine the severity of the setback and whether he will be available for the remainder of the outdoor season. His withdrawal removes one of Italy's most reliable point-scorers from the mix and leaves Francesco Ettore Inzoli as the lone Italian representative in the long jump final—Inzoli qualified with the session's best leap of 8.34m.
What This Means for Italy's Medal Count
Italy arrived in Birmingham as the defending champion nation after a historic performance at Rome 2024, where the team finished first in the overall standings with 24 medals (11 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze). That result marked the pinnacle of a decades-long investment in track and field, a sport where Italy has accumulated 164 medals (54 gold, 53 silver, 57 bronze) across 26 European Championship editions dating back to 1934.
The early results from Birmingham suggest both promise and vulnerability. Beyond the shot put, Zaynab Dosso is expected to contend for a medal in the women's 100m final scheduled for Monday evening. In the middle distances, Francesco Pernici and Catalin Tecuceanu advanced to the 800m semifinals, though Pietro Arese was eliminated in the opening rounds.
The championships, which continue through August 16, will award 50 titles in total. Italy's coaching staff will now need to recalibrate expectations in the men's jumps category, where Furlani was expected to deliver a near-certain gold. The shot put final offers an immediate opportunity to offset that loss.
Mourning an Icon Who Defined Italian Speed
The Italian delegation opened the championships wearing black ribbons in memory of Livio Berruti, whose death on Sunday at age 87 closed a chapter in the country's athletic history. Berruti's gold medal performance in the 200m at the 1960 Rome Olympics remains one of the defining moments of Italian sport—a victory that ended nearly three decades of North American dominance in the event and announced Italy as a credible force in global sprinting.
Competing in front of a euphoric home crowd at Stadio Olimpico, Berruti equaled the world record of 20.5 seconds twice on the same day, first in the semifinal and again in the final. His fluid running style earned him the nickname "l'angelo" (the angel), and his triumph became a symbol of Italy's postwar economic boom and renewed national confidence.
Stefano Mei, president of the Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL), described Berruti's passing as the loss of "a piece of the most beautiful and emotional history of Italian athletics." Berruti's influence extended far beyond his own career; he inspired generations of Italian sprinters, including current Olympic champion Filippo Tortu, who credited Berruti with sparking his passion for the sport.
After retiring from competition in 1969, Berruti worked in communications and remained a visible figure in Italian public life. He was honored as one of eight Italians chosen to carry the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics, and his name is enshrined on the Walk of Fame of Italian sport in Rome.
British Debut for European Track Showcase
This is the first time a British city has hosted the outdoor European Athletics Championships, with the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham serving as the venue. The facility, which also hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2022, has a capacity of 18,000 and underwent significant renovations ahead of that event. Organizers are expecting strong crowds for the week-long competition, particularly for sprint and middle-distance finals.
The championships offer a critical tuning opportunity for athletes with eyes on larger global meets later in the calendar. For Italy, the stakes are both strategic and symbolic: defending the overall title from Rome would cement the nation's status as a European power, but early setbacks like Furlani's injury underscore the fragility of even the best-laid plans. Tonight's shot put final will provide the first real test of whether depth and form can overcome adversity.
