“Anna Stefani has everything to become a great”

The coach of SV Sterzing should know, as he has had countless top-class talents under his wing in the past. He currently also looks after Silvia Weissteiner and Christian Obrist, among others. Grassi sees a great future ahead for Anna Stefani. She is one of Italy's most promising athletics talents. “I have been following middle-distance running for 22 years now, so I can say that Anna Stefani’s abilities are truly rare,” explains Grassi, who is convinced by her surroundings: “In addition to her talent, she is very lucky to to be based in a club like SV Sterzing. Here you have the necessary experience to introduce young athletes to competitive sports. In Vipiteno she also has the opportunity to train alongside Silvia Weissteiner and thus get a tip or two.”

Faster than the international elite

Stefani was in the spotlight for the first time on Wednesday in Oderzo when she stole the show from Italy's best middle-distance runners. The 18-year-old South Tyrolean finished the 5.000 m competition with a time of 18.31 minutes, just under a minute slower than the Russian winner Natalia Solovyeva (17.38). Weissteiner ended up in second place. Stefani, however, finished behind her compatriots Elena Romagnolo (18.20) and Micaela Bonessi (18.27). She was a lot faster than the Romanian Roxana Birca, who took fifth place at the European Championships in Helsinki. “Anna was actually supposed to run a 3.000m run in Trento that day, but due to the bad weather we were forced to change the program. So we decided to go to Oderzo to gain competition practice on a long distance. I wouldn't have thought that things would go so well straight away at the top level. “With her adaptability and her carefree attitude on the track, she has exceeded all expectations,” her trainer exults.

However, the woman from Wipptal cannot now rest on her laurels and continue to stick to her busy training schedule. This is fully geared towards the U20 European Championships in Rieti. “The main focus at the moment is speed. That's why Anna will be competing in the 1.500 m in Rovereto this weekend. It won't be an easy task, especially since the race in Oderzo is still in its bones. However, she has the necessary will that a young athlete must have in order to compete with the best in the world. On May 19th she will approach the European Championship standard for the first time in Gavardo.”

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“Anna Stefani has everything to become a great”

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