Italy's Nadia Battocletti breaks Africa's stranglehold on 10,000-meter podium with a silver in Paris

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — For three straight Olympics, nobody born outside of Africa had even come close to finishing on the podium in the women’s 10,000 meters.

Italy’s Nadia Battocletti put an end to that streak Friday night at the Paris Games, claiming silver in an event that had come to be dominated by Kenyans, Ethiopians and runners from those countries representing other nations.

Battocletti first served notice of her potential when she swept the 5,000 and the 10,000 at a home European Championships in June. But there were no Africans in Rome.

It was during the 5,000 at these Games, when Battocletti finished fourth, that the Africans realized how competitive she was. Battocletti crossed fourth in that race, then was upgraded to bronze when Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon was disqualified for trading elbows with Gudaf Tsegay before Kipyegon had her bronze restored on appeal.

“After the 5,000, they started greeting me, appreciating me. I received lots of compliments from the Kenyan and Ethiopian girls,” Battocletti said. “I imagine they had a little bit of fear. ... I heard them talking in the last laps about who amongst them was about to sprint.”

When Beatrice Chebet of Kenya burst ahead in the final 100 meters of the 25-lap race, Battocletti was the only one who could follow her.

Chebet won in 30 minutes, 43.25 seconds to complete a sweep of the 5,000 and 10,000; Battocletti crossed second a mere 0.10 behind, and Ethiopian-born Dutch runner and defending champion Sifan Hassan was third, nearly a full second back.

“In the last 500-600 meters, I kept my eyes wide open and I told myself, ‘Don’t let them run away,’” Battocletti said. “I tried to be as smart as possible, like a fox.”

And to think, this was only the fourth time in her career that Battocletti has run a 10,000. She’s only 24 and distance runners tend to mature later in their careers.

Battocletti’s parents were both runners. Her father, Giuliano, competed for Italy at eight world cross-country championships. Her Moroccan mother, Jawhara Saddougui, specialized in the 800.

Battocletti is from the mountainous region of Trentino amid the Dolomites Range, an area better known for snow sports and near some of the venues for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

“The event that changed my life was the historic Ciaspolada della Val di Non, a snowshoe race that my father won for the third time in 2007,” Battocletti said, thinking back to when she was 6 years old. “The organizers told me that if I wanted to, I could symbolically run the final stretch with him. That allowed me to cross the first finish line of my life.”

Beyond running, Battocletti also studies architecture, building and construction engineering at the University of Trento.

Before the 10,000, Battocletti taped up one of her ankles due to an Achilles tendon issue. But the tape peeled off as the race wore on and was dragging around her spikes.

“At a certain point, I felt like I was skating,” she said. “Then at the end, I heard the stadium exploding in celebration. ... This is the dream of every distance racer.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games