When on 11 February this year we published an article on "The three musketeers of Trieste Atletica” (click here) we did so convinced of the goodness of the choice of the Club to invest in the Julian city in the specialty of race walking.

Since then, the current season with these three young men has made us dream a little after so many years of illusions.

Emiliano Brigante (the musketeer Athos of that article) at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya (TUR) achieved a very honourable performance and an interesting mark for a young twenty-one year old over 20km (1:22:59).

However, Alessio Coppola's season (the Musketeer D'Artagnan of that article) was a “Rossinian crescendo” for the very young U18 from Trieste.

Undefeated in Italy both indoors and outdoors in his category, on 5.7.2024 he set his personal best at the Cozzoli Stadium in Molfetta with a mark of 20:54:01 in his victory at the Italian U18 Championships.

Even before that, the young seventeen-year-old had made his debut at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya in the Italian U20 national team. His 10km mark was 42:45 and he was the fifth athlete born in 2007 to finish the race, but the first European.

Yesterday in Banska Bystrica (SVK) the young boy of Trieste coached by Diego Cafagna confirmed himself with a splendid victory at the U18 European Championships in Banska Bystrica.

Starting in the lead immediately after the start, he remained in the lead until 1.400m. after moving on to the 1.000m in 4:12.27.

Shortly after 1.600m he was taken over in the lead by Séamus Clarke (IRL), Clement Rabreau (FRA) and Cesar Hidalgo (ESP), but it was a flash in the pan that only lasted just over two laps when Alessio Coppola with two 400m covered in 1:40:05 and 1:40:73 he returns to lead the group and will never leave the lead of the race again.

His victory (21:01.44) will be enhanced by the third place of teammate Nicolò Vidal (21:11.87). Silver will be won by Séamus Clarke in 21:01.44.

The boy is gifted with a natural walking technique of the old-fashioned kind that made the walkers of the 1960s rejoice.

We were very pleased to listen to the European Athletics commentator on behalf of Eurosport who, during the race, repeatedly defined Coppola's walking technique with the adjective "wonderful".

On this topic we open a brief parenthesis and record with a small vein of disappointment that recently in Italian sports newspapers we have read, speaking of walking technique, several times what the French call "bêtises": a sign that leaves us incredulous of facing the specialty that brought Italy the greatest number of Olympic medals.

Honour therefore goes to Alessio Coppola, Nicolò Vidal and their colleagues Serena Di Fabio and Beatrice Palmonari (also extended to their coaches) because Marcia dal Mondo has finally been able to receive from its friends international judges and coaches those certificates that give us the most pleasure: the beauty of walking style correlated to a high level result.

However, we would like to point out that today in the local press of Trieste and its province this victory had less enphasys than a regional race a few days ago in nearby Trentino which, more than anything else, seemed like a local if not a condominium event.

A full page in nine columns versus a third of a page for a European title, albeit an U18 one, represents our sense of confusion and annoyance. Alessio Coppola deserves more!

As long as reality is represented with as a beacon what part of the audience wants to hear and the right space is not given to real medals and not the hypothetical ones resulting from alchemy of any kind, we will fall back into mediocrity.

Our walkers don't deserve this!