phelps

not to mention the fact that those team events are basically a farce most of the times... today we had just 5 teams starting in both the women and the men's division... p.s. and I'd have something to say also about the new format of the finals of these team events, but it's like shooting at the Red Cross...so, I'm skipping the chance this time...

Men's Team Skeet Gold: Russia Silver: Czech Republic Bronze: India

Women's Team Skeet Gold: Russia Silver: Czech Republic Bronze: Kazakhstan

I know...and that was unfair to her, too... by the way, we only need Gut not winning and the Suter/Johnson duo outside the top 3 tomorrow to start the party... with a bit of help from Weidle and the Austrians or even Gisin we might even get it...

yes, of course... I posted yesterday the link to our full squad (post no. 27)...and we have 1 male (Gianmarco Tamberi) and 2 female (Alessia Trost and Elena Vallortigara) high jumpers...

given that she's gonna win easily the last DH at home, Lara is tomorrow's win away from stealing the most improbable DH World Cup title... chances for Suter and even more Johnson to make up 150 points in 2 races imho are slimmer than Gut's 197... in any case, I still hope Goggia can win the most deserved crystal globe of them all...5 races, 4 wins and a 2nd place for her before she got injured in that crazy Garmisch afternoon...

don't take it for granted for all events... also in the past we already had some YT coverage, but not always...it depends on where they hold the competitions...

both 4*400m relays will have only the final, no preliminary round...only 6 teams per gender have been accepted by EAA the women's relay will feature: POL, NED, ITA, UKR, GBR, GER the men's relay field is: POL, BEL, GBR, ITA, NED, CZE Italy will enter 44 athletes (22 women and 22 men) in this championship... the stars are surely Gianmarco Tamberi (men's High Jump), Marcell Jacobs (men's 60m) and teenage sensation Larissa Iapichino (women's Long jump)... Leonardo Fabbri (men's Shot Put), despite being in the start list, is not in good shape because he recently had covid and missed quite a long training period... the rest of the field, frankly is just cosmetic... the full Italian squad can be found here: http://www.fidal.it/content/Euroindoor-gli-azzurri-per-Torun/131185

No Italy in this 1st World Cup event of 2021... But still, some interesting shooting, some big names and some entertaining finals... very unusual but also nice the night finals for the men's skeet...

Men's Skeet Gold: Mykola Milchev Silver: Jesper Hansen Bronze: Rashid Hamad

Women's Skeet Gold: Danka Bartekova Silver: Alina Fazylzyanova Bronze: Konstantia Nikolaou

actually, Greenland until 1814 was part of the Norwegian Kingdom... only in 1814 they switched to go under the Danish control...but they only became part of the Danish Kingdom in 1953... finally, in 1979 they got the chance to establish their own government, even if they're still formally part of the Danish Kingdom...

yes, it's morally wrong... but technically there's an explaination to that...the benefit of building strenght/endurance/stability or any other feature could be built/improved with doping goes well beyond a 2/4 maybe even 8-year ban... and when you come back you're normally stronger than before (provided you go on training during the ban period, as many athletes do) because your body can keep up with harder training sessions...you don't even need to continue your doping program as earlier... I mean, it happened to hundreds of athletes...it's not Schwazer being an exception to the regular trend... that's why I'm in favour of the life ban for all cheaters, but until it's not the rule for every sport and every athlete, we must accept what's the ruling at the moment (of course we can disagree with that, but we must accept it)...

hey, the judge's decision came after a 4 and a half-year trial, with many research and studies being conducted to find proofs about his innocence or not... it's not that the judge woke up 2 mornings ago and said: "oh, what? today I'm gonna say this man is innocent and that other one is guilty"... it's not the judge's fault if the German lab and a German judge tried every trick and said false things about the samples (and that's been established well beyond any reasonable doubt, with the samples' carriers testifying the illegal stop at the Border, the fact that they had to leave the samples without any surveillance for a few hours -in order for the people who had to manipulate the samples to play their part- and all the remaining illegal procedures)... and it's not the judge's fault also if WA and WADA tried to break all the Italian law procedures to get a couple of biased doctors testifying false and ludicrous interpretations of the internationally recognized data about the natural human values of urine chemical and biological structure... and in the liberal democracy, a trial court is the only institution authorized to declare people innocent or guilty... here you're right... but still, the law is quite clear...once you've served your sentence (and Schwazer did it), you can get back to your life and do whatever you want (possibly without breaking any law anymore)... there's no way people can accept what happened 5 years ago, building a plot like that to exclude someone from sports competition without a reason is a lot worse than finding an athlete cheating... I used to be a Schwazer fan, then I became his toughest opponent when he was caught... but now, I'm supporting him in any way to make justice...and the only justice in this case is to destroy WA and WADA for what they did to him (and most likely to other athletes who haven't been brave and determined enough to go on with their fight)... I've never been a WADA fan, but with their behaviour in the last few years (this case, but also the full coverage they granted to GBR and USA, to the Spaniards of the Operacion Puerto and the punishment which is a no punishment to Russia...just to name the biggest scandals, but there are others of course) made it clear to me that they are the worst enemy of the sports, more than labs and athletes cheating all day long, even more than the AIBA and IWF of this world... that's why this time I'm ready to put my principles aside... therefore, Schwazer coming back and winning in style the last 50km race walk in the history of the sport (once again, thanks WA and IOC for this stupid decision) is the perfect punishment for WA and WADA...seeing all of their machinations being cancelled like that, priceless...

he was indeed...and in fact he was caught before London 2012 (probably he was already cheating in 2010 and 2011, but not before...and the 7000* re-test of his samples of Beijing 2008 are there to show that at that time he was clean and still dominating the 50km race), he admitted his fault** (even in the trial court, not only in the sports process) and he accepted his 4-year suspension... and it's just because in the first process (after he was caught in 2012) he did reveal all the mafia behind the race walking (the Russian "owner" of that world, Viktor Chegin, his followers -the Damilano family and their Chinese armada, dr. Fischetto as the man in charge for IAAF to perform the doping tests and his full coverage granted to all those Chegin said he wanted to be covered -not only Russians and Chinese), that he was targeted once he came back stronger than ever after his ban (in the last process mails sent to Schwazer asking him to keep a low profile and not even try to win a medal in any race by more than one IAAF and Italian NF officials have been put among the acts)... *just to say a high number, not that they really performed 7000 new tests...of course (before some smart user comes here to say: "hey, how do you know how many tests have been done?" )... **and he explained that he started his doping program because he wanted to double-up the 20km with the 50km... he actually felt that he didn't need any help from the outside to win the 50km, but at the same time he didn't have any chance to shine in the 20km because he hasn't a natural speed peak nor a change of pace that are absolutely becessary to win international medals in that discipline... he just became too ambitious, greedy and he paid a big prize for that...but it doesn't mean that he deserved what happened 5 years ago...

because of what he said about Schwazer in the last 5 years... he's only en envious poor man...a loser if there's one in this world...

I think he's going to retire at the end of the season...that's why he went down like that...as a farewell...

it's not unprecedented... however, what FIS thought yesterday before taking this decision is irrelevant...today's results (and all of the previous days' too) are there to show the great job of the snow crew, by far the MVP of the championships (because if we look at the organizers choosing the slopes and at FIS making the course design for the speed events and that farce named parallel slalom...well, they have been the true disaster of these 2 weeks)...

as if there have been many, so far...

in Oberstdorf, they should hire the Cortina snow crew... despite those temperatures, they've been able to keep the tracks working perfectly (and yesterday's top time in the 2nd run by Liensberger and today's Vinatzer's 2nd time in the 1st run with no.17 are there to show that, before someone is going to say something)...

yessss! Vinatzer!

there's nothing great in having such an idiot walking around...

watching the game right now... wonderful location (it's hole #18 of the local golf course, with the clubhouse acting as the main stand for the few invited spectators/press on site)...

Italy are going to Budapest with almost a full squad (despite the chances to qualify somebody are very slim, maybe just Abraham Conyedo in the men's Freestyle -97kg class)... what's interesting, we are launching at senior level our (very) young hope Simone Piroddu in the men's Freestyle -57kg class, which is very unusual for us... this is the full list of our wrestlers flying to Hungary next month: women's wrestling Carmen Di Dio (-53kg) Aurora Russo (-57kg) Sara Dacol (-62kg) Dalma Caneva (-68kg) Eleni Pjollaj (-76kg) men's Freestyle Simone Vincenzo Piroddu (-57kg) Simone Iannattoni (-86kg) Abraham Conyedo (-97kg) men's Greco-Roman Jacopo Sandron (-60kg) Ruben Marvice (-67kg) Luca Dariozzi (-77kg) Fabio Parisi (-87kg) Nikoloz Kakhelashvili (-97kg) Luca Godino (-130kg)

Larissa Iapichino (Fiona May's daughter) strikes again! At the Italian indoor Nationals, earlier today she jumped 6.91m long, new senior Italian indoor record (tied with her mom), new World Limit in 2021, qualifying standard for Tokyo 2020 also for the Italian federation (we usually have higher standards than the WA qualifying marks) and above all, new Junior (U20) World Record, improving Heike Drechsler 6.88m from 1983... all this, at the age of 18 (she turns 19 next July)...