Where the did the Italian women come from

To a non-american, Hocker would give the same impression more or less. Wins gold while he had 3:30.5 pb one week ago. Difference being that these boards are american based and when it comes to american athletes users here are obsessed with details like splits, kicks, injuries that jeopardize whole seasons and so on. And thus countless threads about Hocker being a threat for gold will emerge, making it look like he didn't come from nowhere. Also, Nadia's parents were both pro-athletes. If she was american she would have been revered as a golden child for years on these boards.

The country that looks like a gumboot:.

She's been around a few years. I've followed her progress.

She hasn't come out of nowhere and that was a slow pace, she was in good position.

It was a slow race. They jogged the first 5k.

That’s why Hassan was able to catch up.

Half African. Her mother is Moroccan according to the semi-reliable Wikipedia.

I thought Battocletti made a massive tactical mistake in that race. The European Championships demonstrated what she was capable of in terms of a late kick. But the East Africans tonight wouldn't have been prepared for that at all. They were still underestimating her, just like the vast majority of fans.

Throughout the final lap I was screaming for Battocletti to shake loose from the rail and kick away. Trust yourself. Get the jump on Chebet instead of the other way around.

If she had timed it properly that tactic had a huge chance to succeed for gold. There was nobody else to be afraid of. Gudaf Tsegay is a joke. And like I posted a few days ago, Hassan was just going to hang back in the 10,000 while trusting that she could outkick everybody except Chebet. By going early Battocletti likely wouldn't have risked anything and possibly gained a ton.

Valby would look like that if she suddenly developed a serious finishing kick which is her only hope of competing for medals on the world stage.

Exactly!

Same with all those NCAA-stars popping up on the international scene after years of rigorous testing by USADA. Pro's hardly racing in Europe, because Travis isn't there to back them... come on. Just running fast isn't enough.

She literally has been obliterating all European girls on any racing surface available in any youth competitions in the past 7 years (she literally was medalling at 16 years old in EU20 champs...her only non victory in EuroXC under-20 or under-23 arrived as a 16 year old, when she finished 5th...the only other European athlete capable of something similar arrived 4th in Paris in the 1500, btw).

behind

Italian father busted for doping before

Moroccan mother

Suspicious? Yes, but hasn’t tested positive yet and progress has been relatively linear.

Georgia Bell looks more suspicious honestly.

I remember ChImel beating her. Anyway Battocletti is an obvious doper. My guess is she started as a teenager with the help of good old dad.

It sure wasn't in the run up to the 2022 Olympics.

*2021.

You guys probabily started to watch athletics in TV not sooner than yesterday and you know nothing about what happened before.

Nadia classified 7th in the final of the 5000m at Tokyo Olympics when she was only 20 years old. So why do you accuse of doping an athlete that has been on the scene since when she was young?

Go to watch your baseball matches yankees.

And a nice "go back home devastated" to all the valbymania fans.

There was a lot of jostling and bumping in the 21st lap when it bunched up. At ~25:35, Battocletti went stumbling sideways to the outside lanes. At ~26:10 something is seen flopping down at her right shoe.

She had a large amount of tan coloured tape covering her left ankle and calf at the start of the race, apparently due to an achilles tendon issue. As it was a hot and humid evening, the tape came off over the course of the race.

Thanks, that explains it. I wondered why she seemed to hobble a bit wearing only one shoe post-race.

In the following translation of comment on the silver medalist’s Instagram, there is mention of both “hamstring pain” and “tendon pain” :

gianluca_munari NADI, YOU'RE THE 10,000m VICE OLYMPIC CHAMPION!!
I still have to realize what you did last night... it was incredible! Our arrival at camp in the rain, you reassuring me you're ok, then during warm up an impromptu stop for hamstring pain and doctors running to you for a solution. The time running out for the call in the call room, the fear and doubts whether to compete or not, then your decision, made with determination as you always do in life, to take part in the race, to grit your teeth and not to let such a great opportunity slip away.
A masterfully run race, with character and maturity, as only you know how to do.
You're there, with the best in the world, the ones you thought were unbeatable, you don't give up, you understand their game, you say no, now you don't escape me.
Then the final flight, adrenaline covers the tendon pain, turn on the turbo, cross the finish line, I couldn't believe it! It's a SILVER MEDAL!
You on the track, you don't believe what you've done, you limp, you take your shoe off from the pain, you rejoice, you did it, the medal is yours, you got your revenge, you got what you deserve!
CHILLS, TEARS OF JOY!
YOU ARE UNIQUE, I LOVE YOU

Sorry, I meant her left shoe.