Sixteen-year-old Kelly Doualla made history in the Italian women's sprint, winning the bronze medal in the 100m at the Under-20 World Championships in Eugene, competing against opponents two years older. This is the first-ever medal for an Italian athlete at a World Championships in the 100m. She finished third with a time of 11.27 (-0.1), behind American Mia Maxwell (11.14) and Jamaican Shanoya Douglas (11.17).
On the runway at Hayward Field, Kelly Doualla was the youngest of the Nine athletes competed in the medal sprint at 16 years and 259 days. Her race was practically perfect, thanks to a much better start than in the preliminary rounds and a strong progression that allowed her to slip into the wake of American Mia Maxwell and Jamaican Shanoya Douglas. Italy is behind the United States and Jamaica, thanks to the very young student of Walter Monti, resident in Sant'Angelo Lodigiano and registered with Cus Pro Patria Milano, capable of rewriting the continental and Italian youth lists in two years (her personal best of 11.14 is the European under-18 record and the Italian under-18 and under-20 limit as well as the second best Italian time of all time behind Zaynab Dosso) and swell her trophy cabinet already embellished with the European under-20 golds in the 100 and 4x100 (2025), the continental under-18 title in Rieti 2026 (with bronze in the 100+200+300+400 relay) and the double gold (100 and 100+200+300+400 relay) at the EYOF 2025.
“"I have to admit that I was very nervous before the race," Kelly Doualla said immediately after the race. "Once I reached the blocks, I decided to fight this Kelly and send her packing. At the finish line, I thought that other Kelly had won, but no: my fears vanished when I saw I was third, and I think it showed in the scream I gave when I found out I'd won a medal. Hugging my teammates after the race was a huge thank you to all of them because they were exceptional. They supported me from the start, in the heats, in the semifinals, during the warm-up, and they followed the final.".
