European championships, bronze for Belotti and Santoro in the three-metre synchro

Stefano Belotti and Matteo Santoro they won the bronze medal in the synchro three-metre springboard at the European Diving Championships in Paris. The blue couple, fifth before the last rotation, managed to get on the podium thanks to the last dive, the double and a half forward with two twists and a half pike.

Belotti and Santoro scored 386.07 points. Gold for the Germans Lou Noel Guy Massenberg and Jonathan Gisbert Schauer with 423.84 points, leading from the third jump. Silver to the neutral Russians Evgenii Kuznetsov and Nikita Shleikher with 408.99. Fourth place for the British Anthony Harding and Jack Laugher, remaining 0.48 points behind the Azzurri’s bronze.

The first international podium among seniors

After the two silver medals signed by Giovanni Tocci and Lorenzo Marsaglia in the last four editions, Belotti and Santoro have won their first international podium in the senior category. In 2022 they were European and world junior champions, in Otopeni and Montreal respectively. For Santoro, 19 years old, originally from Rome and bearer of the Navy, the bronze won is the first medal in the men’s trampoline synchro and the third in this Parisian event, after the golds in the team event and in the mixed trampoline synchro together with Chiara Pellacani.

Santoro and Pellacani are also reigning world champions of a relatively new diving specialty, introduced to be able to offer a mixed competition at Olympic level with a view to gender equality. For Belotti, 22 years old, from Zogno, in the province of Bergamo, it is the second podium at continental level after the bronze from the one-metre springboard won in 2024 in Belgrade.

The Azzurri’s match

The two blues, after the two obligatory dives, ordinary back pike and reverse pike, were in partial third place. The Italian couple opened the free dives in the best possible way with the triple somersault and half forward pike, which earned them second place less than three points behind Germany and ahead of the two expert Russians Kuznetsov and Shleikher. The quadruple somersault and a half forward in the aerial phase was very good, minus Belotti’s entry into the water. Italy dropped one position, overtaken by the neutral Russian pair and with 2.07 points ahead of fourth place, Ukraine.

The fifth jump was the grouped triple somersault and half return and, once again, after a good execution, Belotti’s entry into the water was plentiful. The partial score of 66.30 points dropped the Azzurri to fifth place, almost five points away from bronze. The final dive, the double somersault and a half forward with two pike twists, performed very well, gave the bronze to the Italians, also because the British Anthony Harding and Jack Laugher made a mistake in performing the difficult quadruple and a half forward grouped.