The second final of the run of the U20 European Championships scheduled is that of the men's 10.000m track walk which starts at 10:05 (9:05 CET) on Saturday 17 July 2021.
10.000m track walk U20 men
Let's start with the European ranking on the distance of the first ten athletes in the following table.
The ranking, however, does not take into account the results of the two Russian athletes recently admitted to compete as Authorized Neutral Athlete as their results were prior to the decision of the World Athletics.
The best accreditation time is that of Emiliano Brigante (ITA) who with his 41: 48.25 is also the leader of the European seasonal ranking.
Brigante was born on May 27, 2003 and is U20 from this season as well as being the only athlete to have an accreditation time of less than 42: 00.00.
The main opponents with accredited times are the following:
- firstly the two athletes from Russia who will compete, after the recent admission, as ANA: Maksim Pyanzin (42: 27.7h) and Dmitriy Gramachkov (42: 50.4h)
- the two athletes from France: Lucas Dreville (42: 50.65) and Dimitri Durand (42: 53.2h)
- the two athletes from Turkey: Serhat Gungor (42: 24.72) and Mazlum Demir (42: 48.12)
- the Ukrainian Taras Koretskyy: (42: 59.28)
Also not to be excluded is the third athlete from Turkey, Mert Kahraman (43: 06.34) and the best of the Spaniards, Paul McGrath (43: 11.95).
We see the others a step lower, even if being U20 (and the women's race was the litmus test) nothing can be excluded until the end given the bronze by Maele Biré-Heslouis.
Certainly the jury will have a lot to do to keep the competition under control with eight young athletes who show up with a season best of less than 43: 00.00
Report of the race
There are 32 at the start and it seems to witness a photocopy of the women's race, with the compact group
- first 5.000m
The pace is quite slow: in fact at 3.000m race leader Dimitri Durand (FRA) passes in 13:30.47 together with Jaromir Moravk m (CZE).
In the next 1,000m the three athletes from Turkey (Gungor, Kahraman and Demir) together with Gabriele Gamba (ITA) take the lead in the group, but the pace is always 4:20/km
At the middle of the race the passage of the leading group for the first 12 athletes takes place between 22:12.66 for the first (Serhat Gungor, TUR) who precedes the two teammates (Mazlum Demir: 22:13.50 and Mert Kahraman: 22:13.55).
In the top 12 there are: three athletes from Turkey, three athletes from Italy, two athletes from Spain, two athletes from France and one each from Greece and the Czech Republic.
The Russian Dmitry Gramachkov (ANA) remains hidden in the middle of the group and passes in 14th position in 22:15.70
In the meantime, the jury has already stopped at around 3.500m in the Penalty Zone: Yehor Shelest (UKR) which will then start again. After he will be DQed.
The athletes see many yellow paddles and in particular Maksim Pyanzin (ANA) who passes in 5.000m in 15th position and Nicola Lomuscio (ITA) who instead passes 10th in 22:14.42.
- from 5.000m to 10.000m
It is precisely Nicola Lomuscio (ITA) who takes the initiative, regardless of the yellow paddles received, to lead the group together with the three athletes from Turkey at 6,000m (24:34) and the team-mate Gabriele Gamba.
Mindless of danger, Nicola Lomuscio continues to alternate with Serhat Gungor, Mazlum Demir and Mert Kahraman and increases the pace again.
Just before 7.000m, Paul McGrath (ESP) forces his pace, until then hidden among the group of leaders.
The passage at 7km sees him in the lead in 30:43.36 with Nicola Lomuscio in second position (30:44.79) who is in turn followed by the two Turks (Serhat Gungor and Mazlum Demir), the other Spaniard Jose Luis Hidalgo and Emiliano Brigante (ITA).
McGrath maintains a few meters in front of Brigante and Lomuscio until just before 8.000m, when the first five athletes pass in the following order: Paul McGrath (32:42.67), Mazlum Demir (35:07.50), Mert Kahraman (35:08.96), Nicola Lomuscio (35:09.58) and Emiliano Brigante (35:10.04).
Immediately afterwards Mazlum Demir and Mert Kahraman forces the pace while the Russian Dmitry Gramachkov (ANA) comes forward.
The 9000th passages are as follows: Paul McGrath (38:38.89 with a split of 3:56.22), Mazlum Demir (38:46.20), Emiliano Brigante (38:47.67), Mert Kahraman (38:47.88), Nicola Lomuscio (38:49.00) and Dmitry Gramachkov (38:50.27).
Inadvertently Demir and Lomuscio touch each other, but it seems a completely random gesture. The Italian, however, instead of thinking about walking hint at a dispute with the athlete from Turkey with very little sense of fairplay.
In the last 1,000m while Paul McGrath who, despite walking at a pace of 3:53.30, shows a textbook race walk, everything happens behind him.
The judges stop Nicola Lomuscio (ITA) in the Penalty Zone who, badly for him, did not want to listen to the messages deriving from all those yellow paddles. But Emiliano Brigante who walks alongside Lomuscio, also stops believing that the penalty is for him. When he realizes it and starts again he has already lost more than 10 seconds and from the third position moved to fifth.
Lomuscio barely manages to get out of the Penalty Zone which reaches the fourth red card and therefore is DQed, while Brigante makes the mistake of attempting an unlikely recovery with the scent of a medal.
He doesn't reach the desired goal, he will arrive anyway 5th, but he will find the bitter surprise of receiving two red cards in the last 1.000m which, added to the one he already had, mean that 60 seconds is added to his time of arrival. From then on he will be relegated to seventh place.
Paul McGrath deservedly wins: he managed the race perfectly, starting at the right time, and finishing in 42:32.19 (new personal best). A clear and indisputable triumph.
Second place to Mert Kahraman (TUR) in 42:37.83 (new personal best).
Third place to Dmitry Gramachkov (ANA) in 42:39.25 (new personal best).
Fourth place in Mazlum Demir (TUR) in 42:47.56 (new personal best).
Fifth place to Jose Luis Hidalgo (ESP) in 43:11.03 (new personal best).
Sixth place in Oisin Lane (IRL) in 43:33.53 (new personal best).