Stano powered ahead in stifling heat to win with a time of one hour, 21 minutes and five seconds, while Japan’s Koki Ikeda and Toshikazu Yamanishi won silver and bronze respectively.
In a sporting gesture, Stano waited at finish line to congratulate the Japanese duo with whom he’d spent much of the race at the head of the pack, possibly using his newly learned Japanese to share a few words at the end.
Italy also qualified for the Olympic men’s 4x100m relay final, after coming in third place with a new national record time of 37.95.
In swimming, Gregorio Paltrinieri won a bronze medal in the 10km marathon, after winning a silver medal in the 800m freestyle, despite missing a month of training to recover from mononucleosis.
Meanwhile, Manfredi Rizza won a silver medal in the K1 200m canoe sprint.
Italy’s total medal count at the Games is now 35: seven golds, 10 silvers and 18 bronzes.
This puts Italy in ninth place on the medal table.
