Grand Prix 2024: Italian icons soar in Jesolo

The Jesolo Grand Prix of 2024 has come to an end, with a strong contingent of Italian stars putting on a range of eye-catching performances at home.

Home is where the stars are

We knew beforehand that we could expect an Italian job on the track and in the field, and that was exactly the way it proved across all three days of competition.

Despite losing the likes of Ambra Sabatini shortly before competition due to injury, there remained a gold medal worthy cast who duly delivered. It was led once again by Monica Contrafatto, the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist in the women's 100m T63 with relative ease in 14.80 (close to her personal best of 14.59).

 “This was my first race of the year and I'm happy because I hoped to do under 15 seconds and I succeeded. I raised the name of the blue Charlie's even if alone," said Contrafatto mentioning her trio with Sabatini and Martina Caironi who celebrates their podium sweeps striking the iconic pose of the film Charlie's Angels.

There was joy too for some of the up-and-coming stars in the Italian ranks, not least Giuliana Chiara Filippi. The 18-year-old set three national records the T64 class in the women's 100m, 200m (breaking a 16-year-old mark) and long jump. 

"I am very satisfied with the whole GP, three records in three events was something I cared about a lot and it is an excellent result . We are working hard, my coaches are doing a great job and I can only thank them. I have much more incentive to train compared to last year and obviously this translates into results which then motivate me even more," said the Italian, who last month joined a technical training course in Germany with long jump legend Markus Rehm. 

Filippi's thrilling 100m-conclusion was not the only standout performance on Saturday evening in Jesolo, as the electric pace of Sherman Guity set the fastest time across all classes. 

The Costa Rican pace king was in scintillating form in Italy, with the T64 athlete setting a 10.93s for 100m success to go with his time of 22.93s in the 200m that was more than enough for success ahead of the Italian pairing of Francesco Loragno and Simone Manigrasso. 

Battle between Indian greats

There are a few battles more exciting in the Para Athletics world right now than the one between a duo of Indian javelin icons. Sandeep Chaudhary (F44), a 2019 world champion and a great of the game finds one of his biggest competitors to be teammate Mahendra Gurjar (F46). And in Jesolo, it was Gurjar who emerged on top in the F642/44/46/63/64 javelin final. 

Gurjar’s final throw of 57.95m surpassed Chaudhary’s second effort (57.25m) to leave him with a well-fought for title. What could follow between these two in coming months may be unmissable. 

Surpassing expectations

With the growth of the Para Athletics world, new nations like Mauritius have shown they are truly here to stay. That’s no more obvious than across the T54 class. Noemi Alphonse has burst onto the scene in recent years, starring with two medals at the Paris World Championships in 2023. This weekend, she overcame the double-Swiss challenge of Licia Mussinelli and Alexandra Helbling.

With just a 0.13 difference between the top three, it was Alphonse of Mauritius who claimed a thrilling 100m victory. 

What's next?

With Jesolo over and out, we next turn our attentions to the area of Xalapa, Mexico for our next Grand Prix of the year. Taking place in April, that will be followed by the fifth of the calendar year in Marrakech, which ultimately will be the final international meet before one of the headline events of the year: the Kobe 2024 World Para Athletics Championships.