The Italy U18 athletics squad wrapped up the European Under-18 Championships on home soil with a double podium in women's race walking, propelling the host nation to 7 total medals and 7th place in the final standings. Rebecca D'Alessandro secured gold in the 5,000m race walk with a commanding performance at Rieti's Raul Guidobaldi Stadium, while her compatriot Caterina Carissimi claimed bronze in the same event.
Why This Matters
• Homegrown talent: Both medallists train within Italy's regional club system—D'Alessandro from Abruzzo and Carissimi from Atletica Brescia 1950 in Lombardy.
• Pathway to senior success: D'Alessandro's winning time of 22:58.95 and Carissimi's 23:21.37 position them for qualification to the World U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon next month.
• National depth in race walking: Italy's 3 medals in race walking (including a silver from Davide Sorressa earlier in the meet) underscore the discipline's strength in Italian youth development programs.
D'Alessandro Breaks Clear in Final 2 Kilometers
The 5,000m race walk final unfolded as a tactical battle through the midpoint, with D'Alessandro and Spain's Ana Gonzalez locked together. The Abruzzese athlete made her decisive move with approximately 2,000m remaining, accelerating away from the field in a surge that proved insurmountable. By the bell lap, her lead had grown to more than 15 seconds, allowing her to cruise across the line in 22:58.95—nearly 20 seconds clear of Spain's Paula Elvira, who took silver in 23:18.98.
D'Alessandro's victory handed the host nation a perfect start to the final day of competition, with the crowd at Stadio Raul Guidobaldi roaring as she extended her advantage in the closing circuits. Her dominance in the latter stages reflected the same pattern of execution that has characterized Italy's race walking tradition at senior level, where the discipline remains a consistent medal producer at World and Olympic championships.
Carissimi Battles to Final Step of Podium
Behind the runaway winner, the real drama centered on the fight for silver and bronze. Carissimi, competing in her first major championship at U18 level, engaged in a wheel-to-wheel struggle with Elvira through the final 1,000m. The 16-year-old from Brescia held her technical form under pressure, matching the Spaniard stride for stride until the penultimate lap.
Elvira ultimately edged ahead in the home straight, but Carissimi's bronze-medal finish at 23:21.37—just 2.39 seconds behind silver—capped a remarkable progression through Italy's youth ranks. Earlier in June, she had clocked 22:45.79 to win the national U18 title in Grosseto, establishing a new Lombardy regional record for the age group. That performance, more than 30 seconds faster than her European bronze, suggests significant room for progression as she matures into the U20 ranks.
What This Means for Italy's Young Athletes
The double medal haul in race walking elevates Italy's profile in a discipline where infrastructure and coaching expertise run deep. Both D'Alessandro and Carissimi train under experienced regional coaches—Carissimi works with Renato Cortinovis at Atletica Brescia 1950—and benefit from the Federazione Italiana di Atletica Leggera (FIDAL), Italy's national athletics federation, which emphasizes technical refinement, coordination drills, and endurance conditioning from an early age.
Their immediate target: the World U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, scheduled for August 5–9, 2026. Athletes who have excelled at U18 level often receive fast-tracked invitations to represent Italy at U20 meets, provided they meet qualifying standards. D'Alessandro's winning time comfortably surpasses the typical U20 entry threshold, while Carissimi's personal best of 22:45.79 positions her as a contender for a medal at higher age categories.
Seven-Medal Haul Lifts Italy to 7th Overall
The race walking double brought Italy's final tally at the European U18 Championships to 7 medals: 2 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze, securing 7th position in the overall standings. Beyond the race walking podiums, the Italian squad secured additional medals across various track and field events.
Hosting the championships in Rieti proved a logistical and psychological advantage. The city, located in the Lazio region about 80 kilometers northeast of Rome, boasts a storied athletics pedigree and has long served as a high-altitude training base for Italian athletes. The Stadio Raul Guidobaldi, named after an Italian athletics legend, provided a vocal home crowd that buoyed Italian competitors throughout the four-day meet from July 16–19.
Carissimi's Rapid Ascent from U16 to U18
Carissimi's bronze caps a remarkable rise through Italy's youth ranks. Born on April 16, 2010, she burst onto the national scene by winning the U16 national title in the 3,000m race walk at Viareggio on October 5, 2025, recording the second-fastest time ever by an Italian U16 athlete. That performance hinted at her ceiling, but her swift progress to the U18 podium within a single competitive season underscores her talent and training quality.
Her personal bests now read: 22:45.79 for 5,000m (outdoor), 13:43.04 for 3,000m (outdoor), and 13:55.83 for 3,000m (indoor short track). The consistency across distances and surfaces reflects balanced training under Cortinovis, who has emphasized technical purity—critical in a discipline where judges can disqualify competitors for loss of contact or bent-knee infractions.
The Road from Rieti to Eugene
With the European U18 Championships concluded, attention shifts to the World U20 meet in Eugene. Italy's track federation typically names traveling squads 2–3 weeks in advance, allowing athletes to adjust training loads and acclimate to long-haul travel and time-zone shifts. The 9-hour time difference between Italy and Oregon presents a physiological challenge, particularly for endurance events like race walking where circadian rhythm and hydration management are paramount.
D'Alessandro enters as a genuine contender for global U20 honors, while Carissimi's inclusion would offer invaluable championship experience ahead of future international competitions. Both athletes will likely taper volume in late July, focusing on race-specific pace work and technical drills to maintain the form they displayed in Rieti.
For residents in Italy interested in youth athletics development, Italy's regional club system remains accessible to young athletes of all backgrounds, including families new to the country. Organizations like FIDAL oversee talent identification and coaching programs that serve as the foundation for future success at international level.
Italy's race walking tradition, anchored by Olympic and World medalists at senior level, now has two fresh standard-bearers rising through the youth pipeline—a promising signal for the discipline's future in Italian athletics.
