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On the evening of Friday, July 10, 2026, the two race walking events for the Individual Track Championships for the U23 category, currently underway in Molfetta (Bari), took place.
Women’s 10.000m Track Walk
The 2026 season was supposed to be a confirmation of Giulia Gabriele‘s international prowess in the U23 category, which had already been confirmed in the lower categories.
After finishing second in the first round of the Club Road Walking Championships on January 25, 2026 in Acquaviva delle Fonti in 1:43:27, the athlete coached by Lorenzo Dessì was expecting a positive performance in the Brasilia race that would allow her to compete for a place at the European 
Championships in Birmingham, but in Brazil she was forced to withdraw due to stomach problems.
The subsequent race in La Coruña, which saw her improve her time by almost a minute (1:42:38), left her with no choice in terms of placing, relegating her to only 33rd place.
The young athlete from Lazio’s desire to demonstrate her true condition was evident in Madrid in the 10km race for the Race Walking Tour – Gold Label on May 31, 2026, where she finally achieved a respectable mark (45:43) on a course that was slightly more difficult than the one in Antalya 2024, where Gabriele had set her personal best of 45:26 on April 21, 2024.
Today, a smile finally returned to her face after the convincing victory at the 2026 Italian Individual Championships in Molfetta with a solo performance that left no doubt.
Her final time of 43:44:65 represents the best Italian U23 performance.
Here are his split times:
1.000m: 4:17.3
2.000m: 8:27.5 (4:10.2)
3.000m: 12:55.6 (4:19.9)
4.000m: 17:16.7 (4:21.1)
5.000m: 21:39.4 (4:22.7)
6.000m: 25:35.7 (3:54.3)
7.000m: 29:36.1 (4:00.4)
8.000m: 33:27.1 (3:51.0)
9.000m: 37:28.5 (4:01.4)
⁃ last 1.000m: 4:16.15
Silver went to Elisa Marini in 44:58.79, just shy of her personal best of 44:57.15, set in Prato (Florence) on April 25, 2026.
Bronze went to Giada Traina in 46:13.38.
Men’s 10.000m Track Walk
The men’s race was all to play for between the two contenders with the season’s best times: Omar Moretti (40:23.65) and Giuseppe Disabato (41:17.59), while the leading contender for third place on the podium was Ivan Ragozzino (44:04.38). Ragozzino obtained on May 16, 2026 in Teramo at the Regional Individual Championships of Abruzzo the time of 41:48.55. This results in not included in World Athletics list because the competition wasn’t included in World Athletics Global Calendar.
The first half of the race saw the three title contenders in the lead with the following split times:
1.000m: 4:09.3
2.000m: 8:18.5 (4:09.2)
3.000m: 12:22.1 (4:03.6)
4.000m: 16:25.6 (4:03.2)
5.000m: 20:36.4 (4:11.8)
The surprise came shortly after the halfway point when the least likely of the three, Ivan Ragozzino, pushed the pace and advanced to the 6.000m in
24:38.8, with a split time of 4:02.4 in the final 1,000m. Of the two, the one struggling the most seems to be the local athlete, Giuseppe Disabato, silver medalist at the 2025 European U20 Championships in Tampere, who no longer seems to be the same athlete he was last season.
The second half of the race continues with a surprising Ivan Ragozzino, who sets the pace with the following splits, and his lead continues to increase:
⁃ 7.000m: 28:38.5 (3:59.8)
⁃ 8.000m: 32:37.1 (3:58.9)
⁃ 9.000m: 36:38.4 (4:01.3)
– last 1.000m: 3:55.09
An incredible victory in 40:33.49 for the athlete coached by Nicola Piro, who shattered his personal best, which until yesterday was 43:56.03 and set in Grosseto on July 5, 2025. An improvement of 3:22.54 (which in metric terms translates to about 850m) isn’t an everyday occurrence. The improvement would have been only of 1:15.08 if we consider the result not recognized by World Athletics as a personal best. Congratulations!
Silver went to Omar Moretti in 41:16:26, also a bit below his personal best.
Bronze was a bit of a disappointment for Giuseppe Disabato in 41:50.50. This year, the strong athlete from Puglia hasn’t been able to perform at the level of recent seasons.
Photo gallery by Francesca Grana for Fidal
