First women’s boat at the 2024 Games: Buttignon and Crosio qualify in double sculls

• ROWING

Italian rowing qualifies the first women’s boat – a fifth in total – for the Paris 2024 Games. After the passes obtained by the men in coxless pairs, double sculls, light-heavyweight double sculls and quadruple sculls, Stefania Buttignon and Silvia Crosio (photo Federcanottaggio) also qualified the women’s double sculls for next year’s Olympics.

The two Italian women finished the World Championships in Belgrade in the best possible manner, winning the B final. After a steady start, fifth on the first intermediate pass, Buttignon and Crosio shifted gears and finished in first place in a very closely balanced race ahead of Australia, Norway, China and the Netherlands, with South Africa last by a few tenths-of-a-second and excluded from the Paris Games for the time being.

No way through at the moment, however, for Davide Mumolo in single sculls. Despite a good finish, the Italian finished fifth in the B final of the World Championships, some six seconds shy of third place, the last valid for Olympic qualification.

Also fading away in the A final was the possible Olympic qualification for the women’s eight. The Azzurre finished sixth and last, missing out on one of the top five positions that would guarantee a ticket to Paris 2024. Gold medal for Romania ahead of the United States and Australia.

World Championships: Davide Comini and Giovanni Codato qualify in coxless pairs for Paris 2024

• ROWING

The weekend of the World Rowing Championships opens with another Olympic card for Italy.

Davide Comini and Giovanni Codato finished tenth in Belgrade by finishing fourth in the B final of coxless pairs.

The Azzurri thus qualify their boat for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, given that 11 national places were up for grabs in this discipline.

Only the final day of the world championship event, Sunday, 10 September, remains before the final assessment of the Olympic cards clinched by Italy can be made.

Belgrade World Championships, Rambaldi and Sartori fly into the final: Olympic card for the Italian pair

• ROWING

Another Olympic card for Italy on the final day of the semi-finals at the World Rowing Championships.

In Belgrade, Luca Rambaldi and Matteo Sartori did not let the opportunity slip away.

The Azzurri finished second in the first doubles semi-final with a time of 6:23.94, the third best overall time. Better than them were the Netherlands (6:19.31), winner of the first semi-final, and Croatia (6:23.02), who finished first in the other semi-final.

Eleven national places for Paris 2024 are up for grabs in the specialty, meaning that by merely getting into the final, Rambaldi and Sartori (photo Federcanottaggio), would guarantee the Italian boat qualification for next year’s Olympics.

Belgrade: two Italian boats in World Championship final and qualified for Olympic Games

• ROWING

The first Olympic cards won by Italian rowing.

At the World Championships in Belgrade, Stefano Oppo and Gabriel Soares (photo Federcanottaggio) finished runners-up in the second semi-final of the lightweight double sculls, securing a place in the final and, consequently, a nation spot for Paris 2024.

Then the mission accomplished by the Azzurri quadruple sculls: Giacomo Gentili, Luca Chiumento, Andrea Panizza, and Nicolò Carucci (photo Federcanottaggio) also finished second in the day’s second semi-final thus booking their place for the World Championship finals as well as the Olympics.

However the two crews’ final race ends up going, there is no doubt about what will happen next summer: both boats will be at the Olympic Games.

Italia Team in Heraklion with 102 Azzurri in 12 beach disciplines

• MEDITERRANEAN BEACH GAMES

The Italian Team set to compete in the Mediterranean Beach Games 2023 in Heraklion starting September 9 has been finalised. Italy will appear on the island of Crete with 102 athletes: 44 women and 58 men, who will compete in 12 of the 13 disciplines on the schedule, with the only absence that of the 3x3 Basketball tournament.

The Mediterranean Beach Games, now in its third edition after those in Pescara and Patras (Greece), will involve nearly 900 athletes representing the 26 member countries of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games. The opening ceremony will be held on Saturday, September 9, starting at 8.30 p.m. at the Karteros Beach Sport Centre, a location that will also host most of the competitions over the eight days of games.

Compared to the programme of previous editions, there will be no water skiing and aquathlon while, for the first time, medals will be awarded in 3x3 basketball, kiteboarding and Triathle, a specialty of the Modern Pentathlon where athletes alternate between laser run and open-water swimming.

Defending the gold won four years ago in Patras, where Italia Team won 39 medals (15 gold, 13 silver and 11 bronze), will be cross-country swimmer Silvia Ciccarella, tennis players Nicole Nobile, Diego Bollettinari and Tommaso Giovannini, finswimming Azzurre Viola Magoga, Silvia Sevignani, Mara Zaghet and teammates Davide Di Ceglie, Stefano Figini and Riccardo Romano. In team sports, Italy will be looking to reassert themselves in Beach Soccer after golds in the first two editions.

World Championships: Massidda wins silver in Saudi Arabia to become second in Olympic qualifying ranking

• WEIGHTLIFTING

Extraordinary Sergio Massidda.

At the World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Italian won a stunning silver medal in the 61 kg category.

Already second at the European Championships in Yerevan (Armenia) in April, the Sardinian lifted a total of 302 kg: 137 in snatch and 165 in clean and jerk.

Gold went to China’s Fabin Li (308 kg), rounding out the podium another Chinese athlete, Ding Hongjie, third with 301 kg.

This wonderful result catapults Massidda (ANSA photo) to second spot in the qualifying ranking for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

World Cup: Tacchini and Casadei on podium at the Paris 2024 Test Event

• CANOE SPRINT

Italy on the podium at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, host of the third stage of the Canoe Sprint World Cup also valid as a Test Event for Paris 2024.

The pair made up of Carlo Tacchini and Gabriele Casadei took third place in the C2 500 metres, finishing the race with a time of 1:41.50.

Ahead of the Azzurri were the Czech athletes Petr and Martin Fuksa, second with a time of 1:40.79, while the victors of the event were the Chinese pair Hao Liu and Bowen Ji, with a notable showing to finish in 1:39.96.

The only Italians present at the event in France, Tacchini and Casadei (photo FICK) thus confirmed their excellent form after winning a precious Olympic card at the World Championships in Duisburg, Germany. 

Carlo Tacchini and Gabriele Casadei seventh in World Championship: Olympic quota for Italy in C2 500

• CANOE SPRINT

Italia Team can celebrate the first Olympic quota from speed canoeing for the Paris 2024 Summer Games.

On the final day of competition at the World Championships in Duisburg, Germany, Carlo Tacchini and Gabriele Casadei secured seventh place in the C2 500 metres, enough to scoop one of the five-circle quotas reserved for the best eight boats.

The duo from Piedmont (photo Pagliaricci/CONI), after posting third in yesterday’s last semi-final time trial, concluded today’s final with a time of 1:38.923.

A poor start, despite an admirable comeback attempt over the final metres, prevented the Azzurri from competing for a podium place. The gold medal was to adorn the necks of German athletes Kretschmer and Hecker (1:36.972), who managed to prevail over Chinese Liu and Ji (silver with 1:38.126) and Spaniards Garcia and Martinez (bronze with 1:38.571).

For Casadei and Tacchini, winners at the European Games in Krakow last June in this race format, there remains the satisfaction of having achieved at least one of their two goals: obtaining a non-rated pass for Paris 2024. 

World Championships: fourth place in Valencia, the ‘Farfalle’ (‘Butterflies’) fly to Paris 2024

• RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS

The Butterflies will participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

That’s the final verdict from Valencia, where the Italian rhythmic gymnastics team finished fourth in the overall competition at the World Championships.

Alessia Maurelli, Martina Centofanti, Agnese Duranti, Daniela Mogurean, Laura Paris and Alessia Russo scored 68.150, the result of a less-than-perfect first rotation (30.500) and an extraordinary second round (37.650).

Israel took the triumph (70.800), silver medal went to China (70.050), and Spain rounded out the podium (68.600).

Protagonists of Italia Team’s 40th and final medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games (bronze), the Butterflies (photo Simone Ferraro/FGI) did not fail in their mission: Paris awaits them.

Milena Baldassarri does not disappoint at the World Championships in Valencia: second card for Paris 2024 for the Azzurri

• RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS

Milena Baldassarri secured Italy’s second national place for rhythmic gymnastics for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The athlete who hails from Ravenna finished the Individual All-Around qualifier at the World Championships in Valencia, Spain, in 15th place with a score of 94.250. After yesterday’s 32.800 in hoop and 30.700 in ball, today came 30.750 in clubs and 29.150 in ribbon.

This result proved invaluable for claiming one of the Olympic cards reserved for the top 14 athletes. Ahead of her, indeed, three had already obtained their quotas for Paris 2024. Among them was also Italy’s Sofia Raffaeli, who had bagged a nation place last year thanks to her triumph in the overall individual competition in Sofia (Bulgaria).

Baldassarri (photo Simone Ferraro/FGI) made her Olympic debut three years ago in Tokyo, where she managed to make it as high as sixth place in the Individual All-Around. Now she wants to replicate the feat in Paris, where she could become the third Italian gymnast to participate in two editions of the Games, following on from Giulia Staccioli and Irene Germini.