August 1, 2021: With the Olympic gold medals of Marcel Jacob in the 100m and Gianmarco Tambery in the high jump, not to mention the Italian athletics, it can be instantly considered the most important day in the history of Italian athletics. Two worthy wins, but certainly not announced, because 27-year-old Jacob has made a leap in quality this year, while 20-year-old Tambery has never jumped to this level since the night of Monte Carlo 2016. A win in the cover race of Athletics, so there was not even an Italian in the final of the Olympics (not even Beruti and Mania!), Another of the most spectacular competitions Italy won gold with Sarai. 1980 Simeone in Moscow.

From the semifinals, Jacobs started his Perfect Day, finishing third behind the Chinese Xu Bingtian and American Baker, but snatched the European record of 9 ”84 and 2 cents from Vikat and Obiquelu, which set him back in the final. On the third lane, Jacobs got off to a great start, reaching Kerley angrily, but without further ado, winning a 9 ”80, which is clearly a new European record, and above all an Olympic gold medal. Thus Usain Bolt becomes the successor, the fastest man in the world in the collective imagination, the human face of Tokyo 2020, and many others that do not even come to mind at this moment. Fifteenth-century American Kerley won silver, bronze at 9 “84”, bronze at 9 “89” and disappointing Canadian de Grass.

The other big gold in the Italian athletics came a few minutes ago, when Tambery and Bershim failed their three attempts at 2.39, always taking the lead on the first try. They could have gone to the play-offs, but the control (not very sporty, really) gave them the power to win, and so they did: so they kept a history of serious injury like Barshim and Tambery. When Tambery, the only gold the world had ever hoped for and the only one he had ever hoped for, remained the last person to believe in it when he recovered, he felt inferior. To shape Tambery’s achievement, one has to think that he has not jumped more than 2.33 since 2016, when in Tokyo he scored 2.35 and 2.37 on the first try: the power of mind and motivation. Belarusian Nedsekov was third in the competition based on the details. The time will not be short to analyze Tambery’s Olympic gold, as well as Jacob’s gold, and now is the time to say how much these medals are worth: they are worth everything. Italy will always remember them.