Longo Borghini again! Bronze in the road race as in Rio 2016
- CYCLING
Tokyo 2020 is like Rio 2016. As five years ago, Elisa Longo Borghini won the bronze medal in the road cycling road race. The Italian (photo Sirotti - GMT Sport) crossed the finishing line of the Fuji International Speedway, after 137 km of route, in the third position at 1'29 from the Austrian Kiesenhofer (3:52.45), Olympic champion, in front of the Dutch van Vleuten. For the Italian Team, this is the third medal in this edition of the Games.
New Olympic bronze for Elisa
Dell'Aquila champion in the -58 kg! First Italy team gold at Tokyo 2020
- TAEKWONDO
The first gold medal of the Italy team in Tokyo 2020 bears the signature of Vito Dell'Aquila, in taekwondo. The Italian from Mesagne was the undisputed protagonist of the -58 kg category at the Japanese Olympic Games and at the Makhuari Messe Hall got the better of the Tunisian Khalil Mohamed Jendoubi 16-12 in the final.
The Apulian had started his path to Olympic gold by defeating the Hungarian Omar Salim 26-13 in the Round of 16 in the -58 kg category. The Italian then beat Thailand's Ramnarong Sawekwiharee 37-17, paving the way for the semifinal, where he defeated Argentina's Lucas Lautaro Guzman 29-10.
Dell'Aquila, born in 2000, the year taekwondo made its debut in the Sydney Olympic programme, thus embellishing his trophy cabinet, including a European gold and bronze medal (2019 and 2018) and a world bronze (2017).
For the Italian Team it is the second Olympic gold medal of all time after the one won by Carlo Molfetta in London 2012 (also from Mesagne).
Gold Taekwondo for dell'Aquila
Tokyo 2020: first Italy team medal! Samele takes silver in the individual sabre event
- FENCING
The Italy team inaugurates the medal table of Tokyo 2020 with the silver medal of Luigi Samele in the men's sabre. The Italian lost only in the final to the Hungarian Aron Szilagyi with a score of 15-7. In his ride to the medal, the Italian had overcome the Korean Junghwang Kim (15-12) in a semifinal won by winning the derby with Enrico Berrè (15-10).
The Italian (photo Ferraro - GMT Sport) is the second Olympic medal after the team bronze medal won in London 2012.
Silver Saber with Luigi Samele
The curtain rises on the Games. The Italian tricolour waves in the hands of Jessica Rossi and Elia Viviani
- TOKYO 2020
A year late, the curtain rises on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The first in history to be postponed by 12 months, the first of the Covid-19 era. The first major world event in which the athletes of the Planet (reproduced in the finale in the sky to the notes of Imagine) meet to measure themselves, confront themselves and others, going beyond those walls that the coronavirus has erected between us.
The ceremony staged at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium sends a message of hope to the world, united by Sport in the name of Olympic values. The journey starts from the primordial beginning, common to all, and winds its way up to recount the difficulties faced by the athletes to reach this goal, which has never been so dreamed of and coveted. First, Emperor Naruhito and IOC President Thomas Bach are in the gallery. Then, after a year of uncertainty, Japan's national flag entered the field, carried by athletes, medical staff and those who had worked hard to overcome this difficult period. First, there was an emotional tribute to the victims of the pandemic. Then, a minute's silence was dedicated to the eleven members of the Israel team killed during a terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Games.
In keeping with tradition, with two important symbols of Japan on the field - the sun, which also appears in the national flag, and Mount Fuji - and with a special link to the 1964 Tokyo edition, the five circles made of wood from the 47 Japanese prefectures take shape at the centre of the stage, in memory of the Games 57 years ago, when athletes from all nations brought with them the seeds of the commemorative trees that would establish an indissoluble link between the Olympics and the Land of the Rising Sun.
Then it is time for the athletes' parade, the undisputed protagonists of the five-ring event scheduled until 8 August (photo Mezzelani/Ferraro/Pagliaricci- GMT Sport). Greece starts, as usual, followed by the IOC representative of the refugees. At the back of the United States, organisers of Los Angeles 2028, followed by France, are working on Paris 2024 and the Japanese hosts.
Under the watchful eye of the CONI President, Giovanni Malagò, and the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers with responsibility for Sport and multiple Olympic medallist, Valentina Vezzali, Italy entered the Stadium in eighteenth position, according to the Japanese alphabet, at around 20:50 local time, after Israel and before Iraq. The Tricolour entrusted by President Mattarella - celebrated before the parade by the Italian Team with a video - waves in the hands of an unusual couple of standard bearers composed of Olympians Jessica Rossi (shooting) and Elia Viviani (cycling). Behind them a large representation of the Italy team, with the Secretary-General of CONI, Carlo Mornati, responsible for Olympic Preparation and 110 athletes (of 22 disciplines: Basketball 3x3, Canoe Slalom, Rowing, BMX Cycling, Track Cycling, Artistic Gymnastics, Judo, Swimming, Basketball, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Fencing, Softball, Equestrian Sports, Surfing, Taekwondo, Tennis, Tennis Volleyball, Shooting, Volleyball and Diving) out of the 384 expected in Japan (record number of Italian athletes at the Olympics). Our athletes paraded in white, wearing a special EA7 Emporio Armani garment, with the masks of the same colour, which now mark our daily life. Ready to live a dream with all the Italian fans, glued to the TV, in this unusual edition of the Games without an audience: unique for the gender equality among athletes declined in all aspects; unique and symbolically strong as stressed by President Bach in his speech, held after that of the President of the Organising Committee of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Seiko Hashimoto. "This feeling of unity is the light at the end of the dark tunnel of the pandemic. Today is a moment of hope - his words -, very differently from what we would have imagined. Finally, we are all here together, athletes and political refugees. Let me be happy about this moment. You athletes have never given up, and you are an inspiration.
It was the Emperor's turn to declare the Games open. The Olympic flag is carried by six athletes from every continent, including Italian volleyball player Paola Egonu, representing Europe and our country. The Tokyo 2020 Games are already tinged with the colours of the Italy team. It was the turn of tennis player Naomi Osaka to light the brazier. In the sky, fireworks illuminate the Japanese night. Lights of hope for a world that wants to emerge from the darkness of the pandemic.
Opening Cerimony
Casa Italia opens its doors with its 'mirabilia'. Malagò: "it is our added value"
- TOKYO 2020
There is Casa Italia also in Tokyo 2020. Despite the pandemic, Italian hospitality, a point of reference in the Olympic world from Los Angeles 1984 to today, raises the curtain ready to accompany the five-circle adventure of the Italian team at the Japanese Olympic Games. Casa Italia has been set up at "The Kihinkan - Takanawa Manor House", a building characterised by Art Nouveau architecture from the beginning of the last century in the Minato district, about 10 kilometres from the Olympic Village and the Main Press Centre. "I believe that given the restrictions we are experiencing, having Casa Italia is a real added value. Of course, there will not be the situations that you know, but we have done the maximum possible," said CONI President Giovanni Malagò at the opening ceremony. IOC member Ivo Ferriani, President of the IBSF and the Association of Winter Olympic Sports Federations, Ivo Ferriani, honorary IOC members Franco Carraro and Mario Pescante, President of the Association of Summer Olympic Sports Federations Francesco Ricci Bitti and President of the International Baseball and Softball Federation Riccardo Fraccari were present.
The Japanese edition of Casa Italia, produced as always under the direction of Marketing and Development Director Diego Nepi Molineris, is dedicated to Italian Mirabilia. The term refers to the famous rooms of wonders where, between 1500 and 1700, collectors brought together pieces of art (artificialia) and natural objects (naturalia), keeping them together and displaying them with no difference or hierarchy between them. Thus, all the objects were called 'mirabilia', in other words, wonderful things (photo Pagliaricci/Ferraro - GMT Sport).
A Casa Italia as a showcase for Made in Italy, in compliance with the anti-Covid regulations that will contact the athletes less possible, so much so the medallists can only go to Casa Italia at the end of their participation in the Games. A difficult edition of the Games, "but a beautiful one," said Malagò, "where each of us will be able to say I was there.
Tokyo 2020, Casa Italia opens its doors. The Italian ‘mirabilia’ on stage
Italbasket flies to the Games. Record trip with 384 Italians qualified
- THE EXPLOIT
After a 17-year wait, it is time for the Italians to shine. It's an extraordinary Italy that dominates the Nikolic Arena in Belgrade and conquers the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, after their last appearance in Athens 2004, when the ‘Azzurri’ (Italian athletes) won the Olympic silver medal. This is Italy's 12th time participating in the Olympic Games: 1936 (7th place), 1948 (17th place), 1960 (4th place), 1964 (5th place), 1968 (8th place), 1972 (4th place), 1976 (5th place), 1980 (Silver), 1984 (5th place), 2000 (5th place), 2004 (Silver).
In Tokyo 2020, Italy will play in the round with Australia, Nigeria and Germany, who won the Qualifying Tournament in Split, Croatia. The qualification of the national men's basketball team means that the Italian Team has a record number of qualifying players: 384 Italian athletes who will live their Olympic dream in Tokyo. There will also be basketball. The wait is over. There are 384 Italian athletes who qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympicsin 36 different disciplines:
Never have so many Italians taken part in the Games: 370, an historic record! Surpassing Athens 2004
- WITH ATHLETICS' QUALIFIEDS
The National Teams Technical Director, Antonio La Torre, has announced the Italian national team's qualifying invitation to the Tokyo Olympic Games (athletics programme: 30th July - 8th August). The Italian team is made up of 76 athletes, including 41 men and 35 women, the highest number ever recorded at the Olympics for Italian athletics.
The number of Italian athletes qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has therefore risen to 370 (185 men, 185 women) in 34 different disciplines: this is the all-time qualifying record for the Olympics in Italian history. It surpassed the previous record set in Athens 2004, when 367 Italian athletes competed. Today's exploit is to be added to those already achieved in recent weeks, when the Italian Team had recorded the highest number ever linked to the number of female participants and those relating to qualifying individuals. Today, the last wall has been knocked down: history has been written.
Historic 'First': 2 flagbearers designated. Jessica Rossi (Shooting) and Elia Viviani (Cycling) Italian flag bearers in Tokyo
- CONI
A choice that writes history. The Italian National Olympic Committee, for the first time since the introduction of the flag bearer figure - the Stockholm Games 1912, when the role was allocated to gymnast Alberto Braglia - approved a double designation ahead of Tokyo 2020, in compliance with the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee.
It is also a 'first' in the absolute sense: Olympians Jessica Rossi and Elia Viviani will be the flag bearers of the Italia Team in the opening ceremony of the XXXII edition of the Summer Olympic Games, representing Shooting and Cycling, two disciplines that have had never had the honour of seeing their athletes nominated on the occasion of the solemn moment that marks the start of the five-circle event. The President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò, made the choice official this morning at the Board which met at the CONI Hall of Honour at the Foro Italico.
Cycling and Shooting are two disciplines that have made Italy’s league championships proud: together, they have won almost 100 Olympic medals, 15% of the total for Italy and around one quarter of the overall gold medals of the Italian league championships. The two Italian flag bearers boast a number one gold roll.
Jessica Rossi, Olympic Trap Shooting Champion, was born in Cento (Ferrara) on 7 January 1992 and registered with the Fiamme Oro. A girl prodigy capable of winning the World Cup (Maribor 2009) and conquering the European title (Osijek 2009) at just 17 years old, she triumphed at the London 2012 Games, winning gold thanks to an amazing world record, 99/100, becoming the second youngest Italian athlete in history to win an individual Olympic gold, beaten for a few months only by Federica Pellegrini.
She was also the first Italian athlete to become Olympic champion in her speciality, Trap Shooting. After winning gold in London, she won gold at the 2013 World Cup in Lima and the 2017 World Cup in Maribor. Overall, she also boasts 5 golds at the European Championships and one gold at the 2013 Mediterranean Games in Mersin.
Elia Viviani, gold medal winner in the Omnium at Rio 2016, is a universal cyclist: she excels both on the road and on the track. She was born in Isola della Scala, in the province of Verona and began to write her competitive tale in 1998, collecting numerous successes on a youth level. In 2005, she won two golds at the European Youth Festival in Lignano Sabbiadoro, decreeing her sacred pact with the Italian team jersey.
In 2010, she was selected by Team Liquigas, her first professional team. During her career, she has won 12 overall medals at the European Championships on track, in all specialities (with 8 golds, one silver and 3 bronzes) and 3 world podiums (two silvers and one bronze). Currently registered for Cofidis, on the road, she has won a European gold (in 2019) and a silver (2017), in addition to countless victories in the World Cup and in the classics: she also signed up for certain stages of the Giro d ' Italy, Tour de France and Vuelta.
Her gem, forever embedded in the history of Italian sport, is her success on the track in the latest edition of the Games. The last Olympic podiums on the track went back to Sydney 2000, thanks to Antonella Bellutti (gold in the points race), Marco Villa and Silvio Martinelli (bronze in the American), with the latter also signing the last men's triumph in Atlanta 1996.
Jessica and Elia will be waving the flag on 23 July at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, highlighting the ambitions of a mission that aims to amaze.
Joint Statement by the IOC, IPC, Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan
- TOKYO 2020
With 86 days left until the opening of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and 118 days left until the opening of the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan today agreed on the following measures to ensure the safe organisation of the Games. The five parties will continue to deploy all possible COVID-19 countermeasures and place the highest priority on safety for the sake of all participants, including the athletes, and the Japanese public who will be playing host to the Games.
1. The COVID-19 countermeasures included in the Playbooks (rulebooks) published in February this year have since been reviewed and significantly updated in order to address the emergence of new mutant coronavirus strains and the evolving situation of the pandemic. New rules that have to be observed by everyone involved in the Games during their stay in Japan have been incorporated, and others updated, so that the Tokyo 2020 Games can be held safely. The most important measures, which were agreed by all the five parties today, appear in the second edition of the Playbooks and are as follows:
All participants are required to take two COVID-19 tests before their flight to Japan.
In principle, athletes and all those in close proximity with athletes will be tested daily to minimise the risk of undetected positive cases that could transmit the virus. The dates and times will be set in line with the sports events and schedule.
All other Games participants will be tested daily for three days after their arrival. After the first three days and throughout their stay, they will be tested regularly, based on the operational nature of their role and level of contact with athletes.
All Games participants must, in principle, only follow the activities they have outlined in their activity plan. They must minimise contact within one metre of Games participants who have already been in Japan for more than 14 days, and Japanese residents.
All Games participants must, in principle, exclusively use dedicated Games vehicles, and they are not allowed to use public transport.
All Games participants must, in principle, eat only in the limited locations where COVID-19 countermeasures are in place, including catering facilities at Games venues, their accommodation's restaurant, and their rooms, using room service or food delivery.
Close contacts are defined as those who have prolonged contact (for 15 minutes or more) with a person who has a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, within one metre, without wearing a face mask. This is particularly applicable when such contact happens in enclosed spaces such as hotel rooms or vehicles. Cases will be confirmed by the Japanese health authorities.
The Playbooks have been developed based on science, benefiting from learnings gathered during the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to implementing the most effective tools being used throughout society, such as mask wearing, personal hygiene and physical distancing, they also draw upon the experience of hundreds of sports events that have taken place across the world during the pandemic, which have been held safely, with minimal risk to participants and the local population. They are based on the ongoing work of the All Partners Task Force, which includes the Government of Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the IOC, IPC, World Health Organization and independent experts and organisations from across the world. A third version of the Playbooks is expected to be published in June. As with all the previous versions, it will take the latest scientific developments into consideration.
2. As we look into the evolving situation with the domestic infections status involving new strains, we have agreed that a decision regarding spectator capacity at the Olympic and Paralympic venues will be made in June, in line with the government’s general guidance concerning the upper limit of spectator capacity in sports events. This follows the significant decision in March, when the IOC and IPC were informed about the conclusion of the Japanese parties not to allow entry into Japan for overseas spectators for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 due to the prevailing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the IOC, the IPC and Tokyo 2020 continue to work on optimising the number of participants attending the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
We are confident that compliance with these regulations will ensure the safety and security of athletes, Games officials and spectators, as well as the people of Tokyo, other host locations and Japan.
We are already entering the operational phase. All parties at today’s meeting renewed their full commitment to safe and secure Games for all participants and the Japanese people.
Milano Cortina 2026 presents significant progress at IOC Coordination Commission meeting
- SECOND MEETING
The second International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission meeting with Milano Cortina 2026 was held virtually today, 19 April 2021. Despite the ongoing difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee could show the significant progress that it has been able to make since the previous Coordination Commission meeting in September last year.
Speaking after the meeting, Commission Chair Sari Essayah commented, “Since our last meeting in September 2020, the Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee has made great progress despite the ongoing pandemic. The most visible highlight was the selection process for the new Milano Cortina 2026 emblem, which saw over 871,000 votes cast. Futura, the winning emblem, will become one of the most recognisable symbols in Italy over the next five years. I am confident that it will also be one of the most loved.”
She continued, “It is not just in the high-profile areas like the official emblem that Milano Cortina has progressed but also behind the scenes, with a lot of groundwork being laid in areas like engagement, marketing, operations and venue planning. This hard work has allowed the Milano Cortina organisers to set themselves up to deliver superb Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2026. I congratulate the whole Italian team for their efforts despite the challenging circumstances.”
Milano Cortina 2026 President Giovanni Malagò commented, “I am very pleased with the positive view expressed by the IOC Coordination Commission about Milano Cortina 2026. I would like to thank Chair Sari Essayah and all the members of the Commission for their judgement. My appreciation also goes to the Milano Cortina 2026 team who, in these difficult months of the pandemic, carried on their work with great enthusiasm. Let’s continue on this path: many challenges await us, but I am sure that we will be ready for them with the professionalism that we are known for by everyone.”
While the successful emblem selection process that saw just over 871,000 votes cast from 169 countries around the world – with around 75 per cent of entries selecting “Futura” as their favourite – was a major engagement activity for Milano Cortina this year, it is just the beginning of its engagement plans for the country and beyond. Milano Cortina 2026 presented to the Commission an exciting overview of its engagement strategy that will follow the over the coming years, and will engage all generations. This will help to promote the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and to spread the Olympic and Paralympic values as people engage with the Games. It will also be an important element when Milano Cortina’s commercial programme gets underway in the near future.
The observation programme conducted by the Milano Cortina team at the FIS World Ski Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo this winter, which followed the Biathlon World Championships in Antholz last year, allowed the Italian organisers not only to visualise what elite competition would look like in 2026 but also to understand the capacities of the local organisers. This desire to work with experienced event organisers in the Olympic venues will be part of Milano Cortina’s identity and an important step in delivering Games in line with Olympic Agenda 2020 and its New Norm.
Venues were also discussed during the meeting, and the Commission was pleased to hear that a consortium has been chosen to create the masterplan for the Milan Olympic Village.
Concerning the sliding track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, and following the efforts of the Working Group created by the IOC Executive Board to look into this subject, the Coordination Commission once again expressed its concerns with regard to the legacy of the track. It was pointed out that the IOC had made a number of proposals for alternative tracks, none of which were accepted.
On the other hand, the Commission took note that the final plans for the venue are not an investment in a sliding track for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games but are part of a wider entertainment park project that is completely unrelated to the Games. The IOC is therefore not in a position to go any further in this discussion, as this is a sovereign decision of the Veneto Region.
It has been confirmed to the IOC and the Organising Committee that this outlay will not form part of the investment budget for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Milano Cortina 2026. The track will therefore only be used out to the Organising Committee for the duration of the Games. Before and after the Games, the venue will be under the sole authority of the region and will not be run by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) or the Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee.
Discussions are continuing on the Speed Skating Oval, which was also highlighted by the IOC’s Evaluation Commission in its pre-election report.
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