"I feel very good, I am getting in better shape, I can't wait to get on track in a wonderful facility and in a city that means a lot for world athletics".
On Monday, at 05.05 pm by Eugene, when in Italy it will already be late at night (2.05) the Hayward Field ring will host the sprints of the Olympic champion Filippo Tortu, together with the other gold relay runner Fausto Desalu.
A few hours before the race, the 23-year-old from Brianza speaks to the press in Eugene's Asics Hall, telling about the approach and ambitions for the world championship event, almost three years after the 100-meter final reached in Doha, something that Italy lacked since 1987. "We spent a week in a rally in Florence, it was the best way to prepare. Here athletics is lived in a completely different climate, as a lover of sport in general I can only be fascinated by it. Eugene's track is excellent: I will try to do the staff (20.11 in Nairobi last September, ed). For the final, if you don't need a time under twenty seconds, you will still have to go very close, in my opinion below 20.03 ".
When Tortu talks about the relay and its horizons, the news of Marcell Jacobs' withdrawal from the 100m semi-final has not yet arrived.
Tortu's speech, however, embraces the overall philosophy of the quartet and the air that reigns in the group: "The thrill of winning a medal is too good to want to experience only once - he observes - we want to be as competitive as possible to achieve a final that is not obvious, also because the opponents here in the US are waiting for us. We are dedicating a lot of mental energy to the relay: we hope to be able to give other emotions ".
