Filippo Tortu's preparation for the European Athletics Championships Rome 2024

"The European at home is the opportunity of a lifetime. Running in front of the Italian public, whether it's the 100 meters, 200 or the relay, will be a great emotion. I will have to get there ready, I am training a lot just to seize this opportunity that must not be wasted". These are the words of the Olympic champion and world silver medallist in the 4x100 relay, Filippo Tortu, who is preparing for the European Athletics Championships Rome 2024, scheduled from June 7 to 12. In the last edition of Monaco 2022, the Italian won the bronze medal in the 200 meters, bringing Italy back to the podium 44 years after Pietro Mennea. "In Rome, I want to do even better. I am aware that I am not the favorite in the 200 meters, there are athletes who ran much faster than me last year, but I will go to the Olympic Stadium with the idea of playing my cards and trying to win. This applies to both the individual race and the one I will face together with my teammates in the 4x100 relay, where instead we will arrive as favorites. It will be a bit different but just as beautiful" says the Italian looking forward to the final that will close the program of the Europeans in Rome on the evening of June 12. Athletics and more. For Tortu, Rome also has a special meaning in his private life. "It is a city that represents a lot for me. In the past years, I used to go there much more often to train with the Fiamme Gialle, attend university and I took the opportunity to visit my grandmother, aunts and cousins who live in Rome. I am very attached to the Capital and now even more because we gather there with the relay teammates". After the Europeans, it will be the turn of the Olympics. "At this moment my goal for Paris is to reach the finals in the individual race of 200 meters. I am training to try to go under 20 seconds, it is not easy but I want to put it this way: I am trying to run 11 hundredths faster than I have managed to do so far. With the relay, instead, the realistic goal is to win a medal. It will be very complicated, there are several very strong teams but we will arrive at the Olympics as reigning champions and we want to win another gold" concludes Tortu.