Alessandra Bonora

Happy birthday to Italy’s 400m sprinter Alessandra Bonora, an Olympian who has just had the best month of her career.

Alessandra ran 51.27 for the 400m on 12 August, a personal best, a few weeks after helping Italy to a bronze medal in the 4x400m at the European Championships in Birmingham. Back in May she was part of the Italian quartet that ran 3:23.40, a national record. Add the 52.20 she ran indoors in March, and 2026 becomes the year she went from being a very good Italian quarter-miler to a European medallist.

Two-time Italian champion, twice a top-eight finisher at a World Championships, a World University Games bronze medallist, and a member of G.A. Fiamme Gialle. What she says about the relay is better than any of it: in the 4×400, we are friends before we are teammates. Brescia claimed that European bronze as the province’s first medal of those championships, which is the sort of thing a hometown remembers for a very long time.

Buon compleanno, Alessandra! Tanti auguri di felicità e di buona fortuna, e che il prossimo giro di pista sia ancora più veloce. Forza! 🎂🎁🎉🫶🫶🇮🇹