A media event in an unprecedented digital scenario, opening a new frontier for innovation in Italian sports. European Under-20 long jump champion Larissa Iapichino was interviewed in the Metaverse built specifically for the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships. The project developed by the EuroRoma2024 Foundation, together with Metaverse Partner XMetaReal, offers people around the world the opportunity to have an immersive experience in the environments – reproduced digitally – that will host the athletics competitions next year from June 7-12. From the Olympic Stadium to the avenues of the Foro Italico Park, athletics fans and beyond can begin to breathe in the atmosphere of the European Athletics Championships well in advance, find out in advance where the platforms for jumps and throws will be located and, soon, buy tickets directly inside the Metaverse.
“The Metaverse is a really cool experience, as they say in my neck of the woods it’s cool! It’s an innovative way to socialize, technology gives us these gems that I think are very interesting,” said Larissa Iapichino, who answered questions from Sky Sports reporter Federica Frola and other connected visitors.
“As a child, I never thought that athletics would become my job. I fell in love with the sport not so much because of the example my mom set, but because of Usain Bolt. Coming from a family of Jamaican descent, I remember us gathering on the couch at home to watch Bolt’s races and even my grandmother would jump in. Seeing him run was really exciting. With athletics you never get bored, it is very dynamic and varied, there are so many different athletes fighting to get as high as possible. During middle school I realized that I had a knack for athletics and I started practicing it in earnest,” Iapichino recounted.
Upcoming events in the Rome 2024 Metaverse will be announced on the official website of the competition.