Paralympic: World Athletics Championships, the blue Maxcell Amo Manu, aims for gold in the 100 meters

“Gold, gold, gold!” A word that repeats three times. A word that he has had in his head for a few days, at least since that July 2nd, when he ran in 10”65 at the Parma meeting, four hundredths of a second below the world record, the absolute best time of the season. Perhaps that was the moment in which Maxcell Amo Manu, the new all-blue sensation of the Paralympic sprint for leg amputees, understood that at the Paris World Cup, now on the third day, he would be the man to beat over 100 metres. the new benchmark for opponents. So it was in the semi-final that led him to improve his season time to 10″64, the absolute best and favorite for the final which will take place on Wednesday at 20.07 (live from the championships on RaiSport and RaiPlay from 9.30 to 12.30 and from 18.30 at 10 pm, summary in the early afternoon on Rai2), where the other blue, Fabio Bottazzini, also making his world debut, did not arrive, who nevertheless made his personal effort, demonstrating a good preparation.

Vigil

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Respecting the expectations of the eve, Manu manages to forcefully make his way among the big names of the 100 T62/64 conquering the entrance to the final with the best time in one of the fastest and most spectacular races of the event. In his heat, the blue has established an amazing 10.64, a new European record, just three hundredths from the world record, which says a lot about a sprinter who arrived on the international circuit only last year and who this season has already lowered the his staff of 11 cents. Behind him, both with 10.92, are sacred monsters such as Jonnie Peakock (Great Britain), Paralympic champion in London and Rio, and the German multi-titled Johannes Floors, world gold in Dubai 2019. The fastest Italian Paralympic athlete ever is ahead also to the Costa Rican Sherman Guity, silver at the Tokyo Paralympics, who enters the final by winning his round in 10.69, to the German Felix Streng (10.76). And now Manu feels like saying too much: “In the meantime, Forza Italia! It was my second international meeting, I was very confident, I made some mistakes at the beginning, but it went well. They must be careful of Italy, we want and must take everything. The expectations? Gold, gold, gold, if it goes badly, let’s hope for at least a medal.” Fifth place for the other Azzurro Fabio Bottazzini who with 11.42 is the first of the excluded only by 4 cents, with ninth place in a comparison with the sacred monsters of the specialty. For the 19-year-old from Lombardy, the debut in a world championship is a personal best, crumbled since the beginning of the year by 56 cents, a performance that already projects him into the challenges of the future: “I’m really happy. It went very well, the track is beautiful. There is a huge audience and it was really exciting. In the race I was shaking. Racing with real horses that I was used to seeing only on TV was an honor. I want to congratulate Maxcel who was magnificent and I certainly wish him the podium and a slot home for Italy. But now head to the 200 for me that I will face with the awareness of being in shape and where I will really give my all.” Wednesday will be a busy day for Italy. In the morning session, the national team will instead find Arjola Dedaj, already sixth in the long T11, who with the guide Alessandro Galbiati will be engaged in the third heat of the 100m to try to enter the semifinal in the late afternoon. The Parisian evening will then offer Marco Cicchetti the opportunity to face his first world championship final in the fastest race reserved for the T44 category, while following that Valentina Petrillo will make her debut in the qualifying round of the 400 T12.