Olympic opportunity before completing medical studies

Nardelli has a best performance of 400 seconds over 53,28 m, achieved on August 1, 2020 in Trieste. The medical student was considered the rising star of the year in the Italian 400 m scene. A few days after her record run, she suffered an injury and missed the most important competitions of the Corona-shortened 2020 season.

“The 53,28 seconds from last summer are just the beginning. Petra has not yet fully exploited her potential,” says trainer Hans Pircher. “There is hardly any athlete who has come this far without 100 percent professional training. Other athletes can rest and recover before and after training; Petra, as a medical student before graduating, spends up to 10 hours a day working in the hospital. Training like other Olympic candidates can do is out of the question.”

Nevertheless, Nardelli thinks he has a chance of starting in Japan. Italy has a particularly high level of performance in the women's 400 m race, and the 4x400 m relay could easily secure one of the 16 starting places for Tokyo. 8 starting places have already been allocated - to the 8 finalists of the 2019 World Cup in Doha - and the remaining 8 nations will be determined in the next few weeks. First Olympic chance at the beginning of May The first chance to qualify is on May 1st and 2nd at the World Relay Championships in Chorzow (Königshütte), Poland. Italy's team boss Filippo Di Mulo is hoping for a “5 on 5”. That would mean that all 5 Azzurri squadrons would be there in Tokyo. So far only the women's 4x100 m and the men's 4x400 m have qualified. The fact that there are 5 relays for the first time this year is due to the introduction of the 4x400 m mixed relay. This race, with two men and two women each, will be held at the Olympics for the first time in 2021. And with this new competition, the South Tyrolean's Olympic chances also increase. At least 4 to 400 women would be called up for the 4x400 m women's relay and the 6x7 m mixed quartet.

If the 4x400 m quartet in Poland does not qualify for Tokyo, there is still a second opportunity at the European Team Championships at the end of May. Nardelli first has to secure a place in Italy's squadron for Chorzow. In the last few days, the best 400 m runners trained together in the well-equipped sports center in Formia (Lazio). Last Saturday there was a decisive first test competition on the program: Nardelli showed a strong performance at the “Trofeo Atletica Meneghina” in Milan and stopped the time measurement in her flagship discipline at 53.63 seconds. This meant that she missed her record from the previous year by just 35 hundredths of a second. Nardelli only had to admit defeat to top favorite Eleonora Marchiando from Aosta, who was able to hold her own after a strong final sprint in 53.28 seconds. “If I stay away from injuries, I believe the Olympics are possible” Petra Nardelli Petra Nardelli with Valentina Cavalleri (left) and Maria Benedicta Chigbolu at the training camp in Formia. © cb

"It runs fine. The training times are promising,” reported the 25-year-old from the training camp before the test competition. “I was able to prepare well this year despite my internship obligations. If I stay away from injuries, I believe the Olympics are possible – should the relay team qualify. I will try everything and don’t want to blame myself later for not giving it my all.”

Now the first step is to get a starting place in Italy's relay. And this is no walk in the park. The women's 400 m run is one of the most competitive disciplines in Italy - especially since the athletes here have a much better chance of making it to the Olympics. “I hope for a starting place in Poland, even though the number of top 400 m runners in Italy is very high,” said Nardelli after the test competition in Milan at the weekend. Medical studies before graduation At the Italian Indoor Championships in February, Petra Nardelli only took 54,02th place in 8 seconds (new personal indoor best), but she was only 21/100 short of reaching the final. And this without any special indoor preparation and with just one competition (over 60 m) in advance.

Nardelli will complete her medical studies in Innsbruck on June 25th. “The Italian Championships, which are taking place in Rovereto this year, begin on the same day. This scheduling conflict may bring good luck. I want to be at my best in Rovereto,” says the 25-year-old. Petra Nardelli has big plans. © cb

The athlete from Eggen has no fixed plans for the time after completing her studies: “I will do my specialist training somewhere abroad and then return to South Tyrol. I will definitely continue with athletics. I like this sport. I am also a member of a music band (Tiers) and would like to continue with that too. Unfortunately, everything in the music bands has fallen flat in the last few months due to Corona.”

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Olympic opportunity before completing medical studies

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