“Sorry, I can’t.” Yeman Crippa heard this during the race, just as the 10,000 meters final at the European Championships in Birmingham, England, was turning into a chess game. The Frenchman Jimmy Gressier, who stayed with the Italian to compete for bronze after Almgren and Lobalu had taken the lead, chose not to cooperate. A perfectly legitimate tactic, but one that ended up condemning Crippa to fourth place.
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The 29-year-old Italian knew well the qualities of his rival, especially his speed at the finish. Gressier, world champion of the distance in Tokyo, stuck right behind him without allowing any changes, waiting for the right moment to go all out in the last meters. Crippa, in front, knew he was in the worst position: pulling would mean doing the work for both, while slowing down would turn the race into a sprint.
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“Sorry but I’m not pulling,” Gressier reportedly told him during the race, as Crippa himself recounted to Rai microphones. And the Italian explained the Frenchman’s reasoning: “Obviously he knew that whatever I did he would stick behind, the situation wouldn’t change.” A complicated situation, especially considering Gressier’s speed: “We’re talking about an athlete who has 12”50 and something. Nothing to say, I played my cards.”
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So, at the start of the last lap, the two slowed down almost to a stop, turning the 10,000 meters into a two-person speed race. Crippa occasionally turned to check on the Frenchman, but Gressier waited for the right moment: he started on the straight opposite the finish line, surprising the Italian and gaining those few meters that then became decisive. Crippa tried to react, but he was no longer able to close the gap. “I tried, let’s say, to play it at 80 meters — he said — but he started from behind unexpectedly and took that meter and then I couldn’t attack him anymore.
The disappointment remains, but Crippa doesn’t look for excuses: “A wooden medal that burns a bit, but I have to say I came here without too many expectations, I was beaten by the best three in Europe, I can only be proud of what I did.” And he’s already looking ahead: “My journey continues — concluded the athlete from Dessiè — this was a big stepping stone, the World Championships in a month are waiting for me.”
