Still gold for Italy, Pellacani is playing poker from the 3 meter trampoline and Taddeucci in the 10 km

Chiara Pellacani, a 23-year-old Italian diver from Rome, claimed her fourth gold medal at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris, achieving a historic feat for Italy’s team. Competing in the 3-meter springboard event, she scored 358.05 points, surpassing the previous record of three golds in a single competition set by Tania Cagnotto, who had fewer events available. This achievement marks another milestone in the Italian delegation's campaign at the championships. Pellacani’s performance was described as flawless, with her coach, Tommaso Marconi, expressing confidence that the team could still secure more gold medals. The athlete, who already secured a gold in the mixed team event and two other golds in the 1-meter springboard and synchronized diving, is now aiming for a fifth gold in the upcoming synchronized 3-meter event. Her success has placed her among the world leaders, including Chinese and Australian divers, while she narrowly defeated British competitor Yasmin Harper and Russian Nadezhda Trifonova, who took silver and bronze respectively. Another Italian, Elisa Pizzini, finished fourth and just missed out on a podium spot. The Italian team’s success continued with Simone Conte and Raffaele Pelligra winning silver in the synchronized platform event, scoring 416.46 points. They were edged out by Russia’s Nikita Shleikher and Ruslan Ternovoi, who triumphed with 443.82 points. Ukraine’s Mark Hrytsenko and Oleksii Sereda earned bronze with 406.05 points. Both young athletes, still in school, have shown promise ahead of the Olympic qualifiers, according to director technical officer Oscar Bertone, who praised their performances despite the need to increase difficulty coefficients for future competitions. Conte, who contributed to the silver medal with his perfect execution of a triple twist dive worth 81.03 points, expressed his excitement after the competition. “Only at that moment did I realize we had done it,” he said, describing his emotional reaction upon entering the water. Pelligra echoed similar sentiments, calling the medal “inestimable” and highlighting the team’s effort throughout the event. Their achievements add to the growing list of Italian successes at the championships, which currently include five golds, four silvers, and five bronzes. The Italian team continues to look forward to the next challenges, particularly the synchronized 3-meter event, where Pellacani will compete alongside her teammate. If successful, this would make her the first diver in history to win gold in five different events within a single championship. The team remains optimistic about further achievements, driven by the momentum gained from their recent successes. As the competition progresses, the focus shifts to maintaining this high level of performance and potentially securing additional medals.