Anna Maria Ghiddi and Maria Eugenia Boccardi win Italy’s first medal: silver in the women’s Team Sprint

Italy’s first medal of the World Championships in Madona has arrived, with Anna Maria Ghiddi and Maria Eugenia Boccardi claiming silver in the women’s senior skating Team Sprint, won by Norway’s Ragnhild Aarekol, already the 10 km classic gold medallist yesterday, and Synnoeve Kjosavik. The Italian national team duo finished ahead of Sweden’s Emilia Eriksson and Ebba Stenman.

There was then a 4th-place finish, with some regrets, for Giovanni Lorenzetti and Tommaso Dellagiacoma in the men’s event, won by the Latvian hosts Lauris Kaparkalejs and Raimo Vigants, who defeated Sweden’s Erik Fransson and Simon Karlsson, as well as the Polish brothers Dominik and Kamil Bury.

Earlier, the two junior speciality events took place: a Norwegian triumph in the women’s race, with Mille Sophie Sveinhaug Aarnes and Emilie Ruud Lia beating Sweden’s Lisa Alrik and Matilda Grahn by 11 seconds, while Estonia’s Parts-Rajas completed the podium. Italy had to settle for seventh place with Maria and Aurora Invernizzi.

There was a tenth-place finish instead for Federico Sartori and Stefano Epis among the men, with Sweden’s Theo Malm and Ville Jutterdal taking gold ahead of the Norwegians Torp-Hansen and Slovenia’s Berdajs and Sporn, the latter winning his second medal after the one in the distance event 24 hours earlier.