Yohanes Chiappinelli, 26, sits on a wooden bench alongside five other international runners inside a small church in the countryside. Soft orange light gleams outside the entrance on this Tuesday evening in Tuscany. The Ethiopian-born Italian marathoner, currently the fourth-fastest in the country, is dressed in blue jeans, a grey hoodie and running shoes. He quietly waits during the golden hour as a priest lights candles at an altar. These athletes are here for a benediction 11 days before the start of the World Athletics Championships.
Italian coach Giuseppe Giambrone likes his runners to be blessed before important competitions. He is a man so religious that he crosses himself to acknowledge God’s presence multiple times a day, especially when he drives by a church. Once, Giambrone brought a few of his athletes to Rome, where they met Pope Francis during a private service.
Three dozen people file inside for the ceremony. Giambrone’s hand shakes as he holds a piece of paper scribbled with blue ink and begins to read out loud. “Ai ragazzi che parteciperanno ai mondiali di atletica leggera a Budapest…” (To…
