Athletes Furlani and Mattsson face setbacks at European Championships

Italian long jumper Mattia Furlani was forced to leave the European Athletics Championships in a wheelchair after sustaining a serious thigh injury during his first qualifying jump. The 21-year-old world champion recorded a jump of 7.73 meters, placing 18th among 29 competitors, but the injury prevented him from continuing. Furlani noted on social media that he had been working hard to return to full health following a previous injury in China, stating, “the last few months have probably been the worst of my career.”

In swimming, Finnish athlete Matti Mattsson narrowly missed the 200m breaststroke final at the European Championships in Paris. Mattsson finished fourth in his semifinal with a time of 2:10.12, missing a qualifying spot by just 0.05 seconds. Despite leading after the final turn, he was overtaken in the closing 50 meters. The 2021 Olympic bronze medalist expressed significant frustration with the result, noting that he began to fade toward the end of the race.