Larissa Iapichino she is the new home athlete Diadora: we discover it in Venice on a gloomy spring day. The appointment is at the Arsenale for theInnovation Summit where, after a presentation of the three new models for athletics, the Race Pack, his name was revealed to the international press.
Class of 2002, Larissa Iapichino he is a true track and field star. In 2021 she jumped 6.91m and signed the under 20 indoor world record. No mean feat, given that the scepter had been in the hands of the German Heike Drechsel for 35 years. Today, she is also the European indoor vice champion and third in the world ranking, thanks to the 3 consecutive Diamond Leagues won in 2023, as well as the absolute Italian indoor record holder with 6.97m.
Diadora technologies, at the service of athletes
The peculiarity of the brand's new athletic footwear? It is that they are born thanks to a direct collaboration with athletes who, at every stage, provide real and important feedback to the Diadora Research Center of Caerano di San Marco, in the Veneto region: the company's scientific hub, reopened in 2020 after thirty years, specialized in the field of sport in which doctors, bioengineers and athletes collaborate and in which new technologies such as Blushield, Anima, XT, Atomo, Anima N2 And Soul PBX with carbon plate.
For all her future Olympic commitments Larissa will wear the brand new ones Long Carbon. The idea behind this new model, but also the others of Race Packis in fact to create the perfect shoes to support athletes in their various disciplines.
There Long Carbon, therefore, is designed to make the most of Larissa's long jump performances in her upcoming events, from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to Chicago 2028 up to Brisbane 2032. But what is so special about this new shoe? We had the Center's experts explain it to us. First of all, it is worth mentioning the thin carbon plate in the midsole which ensures the rigidity necessary to provide propulsion while running. And then, also a compound (chemical mixture) from the name Soul PBX, which allows to obtain a superior elastic return. The extra touch? The slightly rounded tip, which ensures a greater flight angle and therefore a longer jump.
The other protagonists of Race Pack there are two: Carbon speed, the spiked speed shoe with sole is in compound Soul PBX and upper is made of material Matrix which marks the official return of the Italian brand on the international scene track and field, And Carbon race, innovative footwear capable of providing an energy return of 80% (based on internal tests with RACE Diadora) thanks to the foam midsole Soul PBX, upper Matrix and carbon fiber plate embedded in thermosetting resin.
From his jealously guarded private life to his other sporting passions, from the Davis Cup to the tournaments to come. What you need to know about the number one in our tennis
Larissa Iapichino: face to face with the record-breaking Italian long-distance runner
Smiling and cheerful, we meet her in a room dedicated to interviews. We asked her a few questions to find out more about this passion and the new shoe presented today. Here's what she told us.
When did you realize that the long jump would become your story?
«Three years ago, immediately after the indoor world record of 6.91m. That's the moment I realized that I could turn my passion into a job.”
What sensations do you feel when you jump?
«Everything has a very short duration: I feel like I'm flying but I don't realize, when I'm in the air, how long that leap will be. I have a slight perception of how it will go, perhaps, the moment I take off: I finish the run and I have a feeling that tells me whether I did well or not, but the real confirmation comes when I get down to the ground, I see where I landed and I look at myself environment. It's all very fast.”
How do you prepare for an Olympics?
«To tell the truth, I train as always. We have important events every year, so I am very constant in my preparation. I train less than many other athletes: 5 days a week, once a day and always in the afternoon because I'm not a morning person at all. Together with my father, who is my coach (ed. Gianni Iapichino, former Italian pole vaulter and multiplexer), we want to enhance quality over quantity. It's an experiment that he tried with me, we also tried to intensify the sessions but I didn't succeed: my body became heavy and lost its shine. So the 5 days a week are my recipe, but I repeat: it is very personal.”
And how does he manage his head?
«When I'm not training I don't want to think about athletics, I want to focus on other things. I need a break, I'm 21 years old and I also have a life outside of sport. Exactly like when you go to the office: you come home and you don't just talk about work. This is also true in a family of sportsmen like mine.”
Do you have any rituals that you follow before each race?
«No one in particular, I'm calm. However, I always sleep a lot. As if I needed to recharge my energy. After the races, then, between the adrenaline and too much sleep, I just can't fall asleep anymore.”
Today Diadora presented the shoes Long Carbon, those who will accompany it in the next challenges. What can a good shoe do for an athlete and what, instead, can an incorrect shoe compromise?
«In my opinion, a good shoe is one that helps maximize your characteristics. It's a very personal matter, because everyone jumps in their own way: there are those who prefer strength and those who prefer speed. In this case it managed to summarize everything that an athlete like me needs: stability for the take-off but at the same time lightness, because sometimes a stable shoe tends to be too heavy. And then she managed to combine rigidity with reactivity, because one or the other extreme characteristics, for the type of jumper that I am, is never good. I have very sensitive feet and I need to feel the lightness and stability: when you take off to jump you unload something like 8 times your weight.”
Give it to him style (deluxe) that we saw on the catwalk to the most loved collaborations, from the hits of the year to silhouette the more you search on the internet: we have prepared a mini guide to the more tennis shoes glamourall to be purchased with one click
A new athlete at Diadora
Larissa officially became part of the Diadora family and the president Enrico Moretti Polegato, speaking about her, says: «Larissa embodies the values of Diadora, which has always had as its primary objective that of bringing Italian innovation to the world of sport. We are alongside our athletes, helping them to excel through technologically cutting-edge products, the result of constant research and development.”
«We were looking for an Italian athlete who represented our Made in Italy brand and she, in our opinion, is perfect to talk about the world of performance combined with those of elegance and Italianness» also explains Gelindo Bordin, former Olympic champion and today Sport and Merchandising Director of Diadora.
In short, a new tricolor star has become part of the team. And we are all ready to cheer for her: go Azzurri, go Larissa!
Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
