Fukuoka World Championships: Italy’s 4x100 freestyle team wins silver medal and Olympic quota place

• SWIMMING

Alessandro Miressi, Manuel Frigo, Lorenzo Zazzeri and Thomas Ceccon: the members of the team behind Italy’s first great achievement in the pool at the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

The Azzurri (photo federnuoto - Andrea Staccioli, Giorgio Scala and Andrea Masini / DBM Deepbluemedia) finished second in the 4x100 freestyle relay with a time of 3:10.49. Australia claimed gold (3:10.16) and third place went to the USA with a time of 3:10.81.

The silver medal was also enough to grant Italy the Olympic pass. Indeed, the relay athletes on the podium at the Fukuoka World Championships also return home with a national place for the Paris 2024 Games. Italy was among the contenders here. And it will be in Paris.

Elena Bertocchi flies into the final from 3 metres at the World Championships in Fukuoka and gives Italy another Olympic quota place

• DIVING

Another excellent result for Elena Bertocchi at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

After the bronze medal and Olympic pass won alongside Chiara Pellacani in the 3m synchro, the Italian diver also qualified for the final in the individual 3-metre competition.

The 28-year-old from Milan (photo ANSA) completed the semi-final with a score of 303.05, enough to advance to the final act of the event.

The result guarantees Italy another Olympic national spot for the Paris 2024 Games.

Also qualifying for the final was Chiara Pellacani (304.95 points), who had previously won the Olympic pass in her speciality at the European Games in Krakow.

Fukuoka World Championships: Tocci and Marsaglia reach the final from 3 metres, grabbing two Olympic quota places

• DIVING

Leonardo Fioravanti claims his ticket for Paris 2024 and dreams of a medal in Tahiti

• SURFING

Leonardo Fioravanti has qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The surfer from Rome made it as far as the round of 16 of the Corona Open J-Bay, in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa, the ninth stage of the World Surf League Championship Tour. He was narrowly defeated by Australian Jack Robinson (14.00 to 13.54) but accrued enough points for his second Olympic experience following his first outing when he took the place of the injured Jordy Smith in Tokyo 2020.

With only the tenth stage of the Tour, scheduled for August in Teahupoʻo, French Polynesia, the same venue of the 2024 Olympic Games and then the finals in September in California, Fioravanti (photo ANSA) occupies ninth place in the rankings, but for the Olympic qualification he is virtually seventh because ahead of him are four Brazilian surfers, only the top two of whom will gain the right to compete at the Games. With ten individual passes up for grabs, the Roman is thus already certain of being able to fly to Tahiti.

For Fioravanti, this will be his second Olympics, after his debut in Tokyo 2020, the surfing discipline’s maiden appearance at the Olympic Games. In Japan, Fioravanti took the place of South African Smith and was then eliminated in the third round – the round of 16 – by Peruvian Lucca Mesinas. On this occasion he fully deserved the trip to Tahiti: he will have a year to prepare for the competition and seek a historic result for the Italian Waterski and Wakeboard Federation led by commissioner Carlo Mornati, CONI secretary general and head of mission of the Italia Team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Meeting of the NOC leaders, Mornati: “The main competition venues are ready.” In September visit of the Olympic TDs

• PARIS 2024

The leaders of the National Olympic Committees concluded their five-day visit to the Paris 2024 Olympic venues. 

CONI Secretary General and Head of Mission of the Italia Team for the next Olympic Games, Carlo Mornati, followed the work promoted by the Organising Committee together with the Head of Olympic Preparation Alessio Palombi.

The first part of the meetings, with the heads of the NOCs, provided details into all the aspects and organisational requirements of each participating team. 

This was followed by general meetings with updates on all the specific details regarding each function: logistics, transport, accommodation, accreditation, security, etc.

Two days were then needed to inspect the Olympic sites, the various competition venues and the Olympic Village. 

The meetings with the Organising Committee also served to plan the visit that CONI will organise at the end of September with all the technical directors of the various Olympic disciplines to get a first-hand view of all the respective competition venues and make the stay and the approach to the Olympic Games even more effective. 

Secretary General Mornati vouched for the progress made on all the facilities, describing it as optimal with about a year still to go before the Games get underway: "The main venues are ready; the temporary structures remain, and they will be built from next March. We are almost there".

Fukuoka World Championships: Bronze and Olympic pass for Pellacani and Bertocchi in the 3m synchro

• DIVING

Second Olympic pass in diving for Italia Team.

At the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships (Japan), Chiara Pellacani and Elena Bertocchi clinched bronze in the 3-metre springboard synchro.

In addition to the medal, the Italian women (photo Giorgio Scala/DBM) also secured for Italy the Olympic quota berth for the three best-placed pairs.

The women also delivered a great showing at the Prefectural Pool, to take sixth spot at the end of the preliminary phase. In the final, Pellacani and Bertocchi wrapped up the five rounds with a total of 285.99 points. The final round, in which the Italian duo managed to oust the Americans from the podium, proved decisive. Gold and silver went to China (341.94) and Great Britain (296.58) respectively.

Chiara Pellacani, who at the recent European Games in Cracow (Poland) had already guaranteed Italy a national place for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by winning the 3-metre springboard, will once again play a prominent part.

Italy waves goodbye to the Marseille Olympic Test Event with a double podium finish

• SAILING

A double podium for Italian sailing on the eighth and final day of racing in Marseille, venue for the Test Event of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

Gianluigi Ugolini and Maria Giubilei took first place in the Nacra 17 class.

An excellent performance for the Italian pair (photo FIV), after yesterday’s accident that had destroyed part of the left bow of their catamaran, saw them leave Finland and Great Britain in their wake.

Nicolò Renna’s performance was also noteworthy. He finished in third place in the iQFoil, the new Olympic windsurfing class.  Ahead of him were Nicolas Goyard, competing at home, and Germany’s Sebastian Kordel.

Encouraging signs, then, for the Italian delegation with just under a month to go before the World Championships in The Hague (Netherlands), which will award the first quota spots for the Olympics.

Test Event Marseille, Chiara Benini Floriani finishes 3rd in ILCA 6

• SAILING

First podium for Italian sailing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games test event in progress in the waters of Marseille. Chiara Benini Floriani finished in fourth place in a comeback in the ILCA 6 medal race, enough to confirm third spot in the final classification with 70 points. 

The Italian (photo FIV) leaves Marseille with three podium places out of eleven races and in very high spirits. Only the Dutchwoman Marit Bouwmeester (44 points) and Dane Anne-Marie Rindom (63 points) were able to outclass her.

Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini, meanwhile, had no hopes of a podium place in the ILCA 7, although he played a leading role in an excellent medal race to take fourth place. The Italian secured ninth overall place in the race won by the Australian Matt Wearn. 

There were some regrets, however, for Giacomo Ferrari and Bianca Caruso in the 470 mixed. The Italian pair closed the medal race in ninth place, slipping from fourth to ninth in a final ranking dominated by French duo Camille Lecointre and Jeremie Mion, with Germans Malte Winkel and Anastasiya Winkel in runner-up spot and Spaniards Jordi Xammar Hernandez and Nora Brugman Cabot in third. 

From 23 July, Maribor hosts the 17th edition: 99 Azzurrini competing, live on CONI OTT

• EYOF

99 Azzurrini will represent Italia Team at the 17th edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival scheduled from 23-29 July in the Slovenian city of Maribor. There will be 48 European nations at the start of the European Olympic Committees’ competition dedicated to athletes aged 14-18.

Italia Team will compete in nine of the eleven disciplines present – it will not participate in 3x3 basketball and handball – with a total of 99 Azzurrini, 52 boys and 47 girls. There will be three new sports in the schedule compared to the previous editions: MTB, skateboarding and 3x3 basketball.

The Italian flag-bearers have also been selected. They will parade with the tricolour flag at the opening ceremony on Sunday 23 July in the Ljudski Vrt stadium, which gets underway at 8.30 p.m. Opening the Italian parade will be gymnast Tommaso Brugnami, gold medallist in the team event and bronze medallist in vault in the last edition of the EYOF, and Arianna Gambini, captain of the national volleyball team and herself a gold medallist at Banska Bystrica 2022.

In addition to the two flag-bearers, the Italia team includes several Italians who took part in last year’s record-breaking competition, when the Italia team won 47 medals in Slovakia, including 21 gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze medals. There are six medallists in athletics, including 100-metre champion Alice Pagliarini, while in swimming Daniele del Signore (two silver and one bronze medal in 2022) and Valentina Procaccini (one gold and one silver medal) will be back on the starting blocks.

The 17th edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival will be broadcast live by ItaliaTeamTV, CONI’s OTT platform, following the excellent viewing figures for the summer edition in Banska Bystrica 2022 and the winter edition organised last January in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Gangwon 2024 marks 200 Days to Go with reveals of medal design, uniforms and recycling initiatives

• WINTER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES

“On this milestone of 200 days to go, we take great pride in unveiling both the medal design and the uniforms. Our excitement grows as we anticipate sharing the Republic of Korea’s heritage, K-culture, with the world through the Youth Olympic Games, and we look forward to celebrating these YOG with young people in Korea" said Jin Jong-oh, Co-President of the Organising Committee for the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024.

Gangwon 2024 ambassador and figure skating legend Yuna Kim revealed the design of the reverse of the medal. The artwork emerged from a collaborative workshop hosted by the Gangwon 2024 YOGOC, in partnership with 19 local art school students from the Gangwon Arts High School and Yanggu Middle School.

The workshop provided an inspiring platform for the students to unleash their creativity. In a brainstorming session, they used photographs of sports, winter landscapes and Korean culture to construct unique collages. These served as the foundation for their sketches, which were then transformed into digital renditions. The selected design encapsulates the nature and picturesque environment of Gangwon province. It also features a beam of light, symbolising growth and unity, while connecting with the obverse (front) of the medal.

The obverse design is by Brazilian Dante Akira Uwai, who won the medal design competition for which a record-breaking 3,000 design proposals were submitted. “A Sparkling Future” is a geometric interpretation of the Gangwon 2024 motto “grow together, shine forever”.

Co-Presidents Lee Sang-hwa and Jin Jong-oh unveiled the Gangwon 2024 official staff and volunteers’ uniform. They were joined by snowboard commentator and ambassador Park Jae-min, actress Park Sun-young, short-track speed skater Kwak Yoon-Gy, bobsleigh rising star So Jaehwan and youth supporter Yoon Jo.

The uniform draws inspiration from the blend of the colours red and white. The red symbolises the energy that characterise the Youth Olympic Games, while the white reflects the potential of young people. The official uniform will consist of a ski jacket, ski trousers, a mid-layer, a beanie hat and gloves.

In an effort to raise awareness around sustainability, the Gangwon 2024 YOGOC joined forces with the PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation and sports associations to launch a PET bottle recycling initiative in schools across the host cities. Under this programme, designated collection containers will be strategically placed in schools and other prominent locations within the host cities. This will facilitate the collection of PET bottles, encouraging widespread participation in the initiative. To further promote environmental awareness, the PyeongChang 2018 Legacy Foundation will organise plogging events involving young people. The PET bottles collected will then be recycled and transformed into cheering kits that will be distributed to the spectators attending the Gangwon 2024 Winter YOG.

The Winter YOG Gangwon 2024 will be held between 19 January and 1 February 2024, and will benefit from the legacy of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 by using some of the same facilities. Some 1,900 athletes from around 81 National Olympic Committees are expected to take part. The previous Winter YOG took place in January 2020 in Lausanne, Switzerland.