Casa Italia presented ahead of Paris 2024: located in the ‘heart’ of Bois de Boulogne in the name of Olympism. Malagò: tribute to de Coubertin

• AT THE EMBASSY

Italia Team will have its Hospitality House for Paris 2024, in the heart of Bois de Boulogne, at one of Olympism’s most symbolic places: the Pré Catelan. The announcement, made today at the press conference at the Italian Embassy in Paris, revealed the location of CONI’s Hospitality House for the Summer Olympic Games, set to take place in the French capital from Friday, 26 July to Sunday, 11 August next year.

In the evocative setting of the Embassy’s Sicilian Theatre, the agreement was made official for Italy’s Casa Italia, first conceived on the occasion of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, becoming over the years, part of the team and country’s Olympic identity.

The conference was attended by Emanuela D'Alessandro, Italian Ambassador to France, Giovanni Malagò, CONI President, Olivier Voarick, CEO Maison LENÔTRE and Andrea Varnier, CEO of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Games Foundation.

Casa Italia will be based in the Pré Catelan, a Napoleon III-style pavilion in the surrounds of the city’s largest park, the Bois de Boulogne, five minutes from the Champs Elysées, in a suggestive setting with well-lit rooms due to the many large windows and adjacent gardens.

Inaugurated in 1856, the Pré Catelan was an immediate success, quickly becoming one of the most frequented venues in the French capital, but it was on the evening of 23 June 1894 that the stylish pavilion became indelibly stamped in the pages of international sporting history.

A few hours earlier, at the first Olympic Congress held in Paris, the Comité International Olympique was conceived, with Baron Pierre de Coubertin who, within the walls of La Sorbonne University, had illustrated his most ambitious project: to re-establish the ancient Olympic Games. On that day, a milestone was reached in Olympic history with a new era set in motion, which was celebrated with a sumptuous banquet set up in one of the twelve reception rooms of the Pré Catelan.

One hundred and thirty years later, the Casa Italia Paris 2024 project fittingly gets underway from France’s cradle of Olympism, on a journey in which we reflect on the friendship and fraternity of those who journey alongside us towards the future, but also those who have passed before and whose common identity helped forge a nation.

“I am very pleased to host the signing of the project for the construction of Casa Italia for the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024. A ‘historic’ occasion we could say as it is the first time in CONI history that the agreement takes place in the city hosting the Olympic Games,” said Emanuela D’Alessandro, Ambassador of Italy to France. “Sport is a central element in international and diplomatic relations and is a tool with which to strengthen and improve them. Because, as was recently outlined by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani, ‘Sport unites us and is an example of Italy’s organisational capacity and enviable industrial sector’.”

“I have come to Paris several times to make inspections, we have seen different places but from the beginning I thought that Pré Catelan was not only the best place for Casa Italia, but ‘the’ place,” noted CONI President Giovanni Malagò. “There is a romantic history that links Pré Catelan with antiquity. In this place Baron Pierre de Coubertin’s intuition about the Olympic Games was celebrated as a brilliant, far-sighted idea; after all, he was a dreamer. Casa Italia today is a registered and internationally recognised brand. We have come a long way since Los Angeles 1984: I am thinking in particular of the most recent editions, in Tokyo and Beijing, in a surreal context we were able to provide a safe refuge to our athletes, technicians, federations and the companies that have invested in us. Casa Italia is an example of the Committee’s true excellence.”

“You have fulfilled a dream for us too. We are really thrilled,” underlined Olivier Voarick, CEO Maison LENÔTRE. “The great Paris 2024 event is approaching and I’m very fortunate to be associated with a great country like Italy. We have the ambition to stand together, to be true to the values of LENÔTRE and Casa Italia. We want to be unique and we will be unique. We want to be inspired and generous. We want to receive many people every night but we will be environmentally friendly. And we also have the ambition to unite the two best gastronomies in the world. We want to organise one of the most beautiful Casa Italia of any of the Olympics.”

“Sport can help men to overcome their limitations, but also bring them together and understand each other better, regardless of their differences,” argued de Coubertin in a France that had made fraternity one of the pillars of the nation born out of the Revolution.

Of the three terms that give life to the motto “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”, it is the latter that leaves the most room for imagination. “Friendship is the true homeland”, wrote Joseph Roth. And fraternity links peoples, just as friendship links individuals: on the competitive Olympics field, in the gesture that becomes a model and an education.

The idea of Casa Italia Paris 2024 encompasses all this. It will be entitled Ensemble and will define the concept of an ensemble, at various levels, as a necessary condition for fostering collaboration, community and reason.

Ensemble, understood not only as the condition of proximity and a meeting point, but as a term that brings with it impartiality, resulting from togetherness. A search for agreement and harmony that is indispensable for achieving a common goal.

This is why Ensemble is Sport, the protagonist of the Olympics. Ensemble is the community of athletes and the peoples taking part in it. Ensemble is building the common good. Ensemble is sharing. Ultimately, through all the means we have available today, Ensemble is social and environmental sustainability: issues which, only when tackled collectively, can results be achieved. Ensemble is working to build peace, and lastly, Ensemble is the Olympics, the noblest expression of brotherhood.

Casa Italia will bring the value of Ensemble by means of art, architecture, design, and hospitality; celebrating athletes in a context where each element will be able to tell how the fraternal utopia can become a tangible reality – thanks especially to the Olympics.

This is why the unifying theme of interwovenness has been chosen for the décor of the installations at Pré Catelan, expressed through the presence of fabrics and textures, whose very nature – by means of knotted lines – signify the value of “building together”. In line with these principles, a sequence of spaces has been envisaged within the pavilion, conceived as “a room within a room” in which, through interwoven threads, new dialogues open within the existing ones, based on principles of mutual exaltation and respect.

Design, one of Italy’s hallmark commodities around the world, a symbol of artisanship and attention to detail, will be in full function as it welcomes guests into the House, contributing to the accommodative experience that Italy always seeks to convey.

By means of works of art from contemporary Italian artists, present in all the rooms of the House, the Ensemble concept will be rendered visibly memorable. The artists featured will include Riccardo Previdi, Julie Polidoro, Fabio Viale, Marinella Senatore, Patrick Tuttofuoco, to name but a few.

Ensemble is also a sustainable project. Temporary set-ups often waste a great deal of energy and materials, but Casa Italia, which had already begun to address the issue of sustainability when it was set up in Tokyo in 2020, will now be designed with the intention of recovering and recycling all the materials involved.

Casa Italia, for a long time exclusively a hospitality venue, since 2016 has become a promotional hub for Italy, on a world stage with the unparalleled media impact generated by the Olympic Games.

Our history - from the Villanovan to the Etruscans, from the Renaissance to a multi-ethnic society, our geography and landscapes, our unique and incomparable places, art, literature, music, architecture, our villages, mountains, sea, animal and plant biodiversity, and science, are the elements underpinning the wonder of Casa Italia. A place where these excellences will find space to tell their story and to visually illustrate the uniqueness of Italy’s human, cultural and geophysical dimensions. All this without ever forgetting the true heart of the mission: the Italia Team athletes, who will live the most thrilling sporting experience of their lives and who are celebrated at Casa Italia.

The presentation of Casa Italia was held, for the first time in CONI history, in the host city, exactly a thousand days ahead of the forthcoming edition of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina 2026, with Casa Italia Paris 2024 becoming a sort of prelude to the celebration of the next Italian Winter Olympics.

“For me it is a great honour; it is really exciting to be here,” admitted Andrea Varnier, CEO of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Games Foundation. “Today is an important date for us, there are one thousand days left until our Olympic Games. It seems like a lot but it is not, I can assure you. Today is also an occasion to celebrate our Games: they will be special because for the first time in history two cities are involved, Milan and Cortina, but also our valleys. In this scenario Casa Italia is an extraordinary communication and marketing platform for those who have decided to accompany us on this journey. Once the Paris Games are over, it will really be our turn: we will be present at Casa Italia, in Pré Catelan, to launch the Milano-Cortina Olympics.” (agc)

(Photo Xavier Granet CONI)

Erik Canovi nominated for the Piotr Nurowski prize as best young European athlete

• SKI MOUNTAINEERING

The European Olympic Committees (EOC) has announced the five finalists for the 8th Winter Edition of the Piotr Nurowski Best Young European Athlete Prize, which will be awarded at the 43rd EOC Seminar in Paris on 12 May 2023.

48 European National Olympic Committees (NOC) nominated an athlete between the ages of 14 and 18 for the prize and three of the Finalists were voted for by the NOCs.

The other two Finalists were nominated by an EOC panel of experts with voting for the winner due to take place during the Seminar before an Awards Ceremony in the evening.

The Piotr Nurowski Best Young European Athlete Prize is awarded to an athlete who has excelled in their sport and embodied the Olympic Values both inside and outside of competition over the past year.

The five nominees in alphabetical order are:

1. Ms Mia Brookes (GBR) Snowboarding

2. Mr Eric Canovi (ITA) Ski Mountaineering

3. Ms Nela Lopusanova (SVK) Ice Hockey

4. Ms Oleksandra Merkushyna (UKR) Biathlon

5. Ms Nina Pinzarrone (BEL) Figure Skating

Great British snowboarder Mia Brookes only turned 16 in January and became the youngest ever snowboard World Champion when she won the Slopestyle event in Bakuriani, Georgia in February. She was one of eight riders to earn an invite to the X Games and also became the first women to land a CAB1440 trick.

Eric Canovi has enjoyed a stunning start to 2023 in Ski Moutaineering with the Italian picking up two gold medals at the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Friuli Venezia Giuli 2023, the Youth World Cup and in the U18 section at the World Championships respectively.

Slovakian Ice Hockey star Nela Lopusanova has earned plenty of praise for her performances at both the Winter EYOF, winning the player of the tournament award, and in the U18 World Championships, where she was named Most Valuable Player. Lopusanova was already playing in the top flight of women’s Ice Hockey in Slovakia ahead of her 15th birthday in February.

Despite the difficulties faced in her country and her training base in Chernihiv being destroyed, Ukrainian biathlete Oleksandra Merkushyna was able to win the gold medal in the 6km sprint race and the bronze medal in the 10km individual race at the Winter EYOF, as well as second in the super sprint qualification race at the Summer World Championships in Germany.

Nina Pinzarrone made the step up to the senior category in Figure Skating and showed no fear as her season’s best score earned the Belgian fifth place in the ISU European Championships, while she enjoyed success winning the IceLab International Cup and the Dragon Trophy’s junior categories.

The Piotr Nurowski Prize was created by the EOC in 2010 to remember Olympic great Piotr Nurowski, and through his example and his memory encourage young athletes to pursue a career in top class sport, as well as inspire future generations to adopt a healthy lifestyle based on Olympic Values and principles. As well as taking into account an athletes’ performance during the Winter EYOF and other championships, their conduct during events and their engagement with Olympic culture, values and friendship are just as important. It was first awarded to the Best Young European Athlete in 2011 and 2023 marks the eighth time that winter sports have had their own award.

New Olympic race walking event revealed

• ATHLETICS

World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee have agreed on the format for the new race walking team event that will make its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Marathon Race Walk Mixed Relay will feature 25 teams, each comprising one male and one female athlete, who will complete the marathon distance (42.195km) in four legs of approximately equal distance.

Each athlete will complete two legs of just over 10km each, alternating male, female, male, female.

The marathon distance was selected because of its existing popularity in athletics and link to the traditions of the Olympic Games.

“A Sparkling Future” wins the medal design competition for Gangwon 2024

• WINTER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES

“A Sparkling Future”, designed by 27-year-old Brazilian Dante Akira Uwai, has been announced as the winner of the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Gangwon 2024 medal design competition. This year’s contest saw a record-breaking 3,000 proposals submitted for the chance to design the obverse of the medals that will be handed out to the best athletes at next year’s YOG.

“A Sparkling Future” is a geometric interpretation of the Gangwon 2024 motto “grow together, shine forever”. The concept of growth is conveyed through vertical lines, while the diverse group of participants in the YOG is represented by elements created through cut-outs and texture changes. The variety of shapes and forms depicts diversity and how we can all contribute to peace and coexistence in difference ways. The polished finishes create dynamic little sparks of light, symbolising the desire to surpass ourselves and make positive changes in the world.

“I didn't want the medal to be a frame for a painting, only to be looked at - Uwai said -. I wanted it to be treated as a sculpture. Something that could be picked up, viewed from different angles, and felt for its texture. I think the medal has a lot of that and this was very important to me”. 

The young designer was unable to contain his emotion upon finding out: “Winning recognition like that, out of 3,000 submissions, is very important to me and I will cherish it for the rest of my life. In Brazil, there is a saying: ‘What differentiates an artist from other people is not talent, but a burning need to create’. That's something that resonates with me”.

Twenty-four-year-old Zakea Page of New Zealand was involved in the selection of the medals. Page’s creation, entitled “Beauty in Diversity”, was chosen for the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020. Speaking about the winning entry for Gangwon 2024, he said: “This design is a worthy winner and a beautiful interpretation of the values of the Youth Olympic Games. To me, it is reminiscent of the traditional paper lanterns that are a hallmark of Republic of Korea's celebration, hanging like canopies around temples and in parades... even dotted throughout the streets of Seoul”.

The runner-up in the medal design competition for Gangwon 2024 is 27-year-old artist Luisa Valencia Gomez of Colombia, who designed “The Road to Victory”. Third place goes to 32-year-old graphic designer Carlos Alejandro Castañeda Arenas of Mexico, with his design “Land of Dreams”.

The prototype made by Uwai will now be refined while in parallel, the reverse of the medal will be designed by the Gangwon 2024 YOG Organising Committee, and will reflect elements of Korean culture as well as the YOG emblem. 

The medal design competition for the Winter YOG Gangwon 2024 came to a close on 8 March, with an unprecedented number of designs received and countries participating. During the six-week period of the competition, over 3,000 medal designs were submitted from 120 countries, showcasing the creativity and talent of the designers. This was 10 times more entries than for the medal design competition for the previous Winter YOG. The top countries, in terms of submissions this year, were Mexico, India and the USA, followed by the Republic of Korea and Brazil.

The winning design will be used on the medals awarded to the athletes who finish on the podium at the fourth edition of the Winter YOG, to be held in Gangwon, Republic of Korea, from 19 January to 1 February 2024.

Training centres chosen for the Italvolley national teams for the Paris Games

• ROAD TO PARIS 2024

The two training camps for Italvolley's national teams for Paris 2024 have been finalised. In the event of qualification for the French Olympic Games, the men’s and women’s National Teams will train at the Gymnase Les Courtilles and the Palais des Sports Robert Charpentier respectively.

The agreements signed by CONI’s Olympic Preparation, the Paris 2024 Organising Committee and the respective sports centres were made official today by all parties involved.

The Gymnase Les Courtilles is located in the municipality of Asnières-sur-Seine, north of Paris, about 6.5 km from the Olympic Village. It consists of a multi-sports hall with a 500-seat grandstand.

The Palais des Sports Robert Charpentier, in contrast, is located in the south-east, in the municipality of Issy-les-Moulineaux, not far from the South Paris Arena that will host the official matches of the Olympic tournament. The centre has two multi-sports halls, one of which has two sliding grandstands with 2,228 seats.

(Photo: Paris 2024 – Nicolas Fagot)

10 years ago Pietro Mennea left us. A ceremony to remember him in the Stadium bearing his name

• ATHLETICS

Pietro Mennea left us suddenly one morning 10 years ago, leaving us all stunned and the world a poorer place. He was an athlete, a champion, a man, an incomparable husband. Ever since he used to run around the city of Barletta challenging the cars, he had speed on his mind, fuelling him to go ever further. From the dusty provincial fields he took a giant leap into the national team. He was a true idol for the whole of Italy, although he did everything he could to avoid being drawn into the star system of the 1980s. Shy and retiring, he was sparing with his appearances even on the track, especially after his two record-breaking years: the 1979 world 200 metres record (with a time of 19”72) that stood for 17 years and is still the current European record; and the 1980 gold medal in the Moscow Games.

Regardless of this he was considered a true hero, capable of competing in 5 Olympic Games, setting 2 world, 8 European and 33 national records. In 17 years he ran in 530 official competitions. He was also Italy’s flag-bearer at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

Throughout his life he never stopped. After his on-track glory, he took to books, graduating four times, was also the author of numerous publications, started a law firm together with his beloved wife Manuela Olivieri and continued to battle against time even when the first symptoms of illness began to appear.

Critical of the major sports organisations, he was, nevertheless, generous with offering solutions to what he deemed to be their most pressing issues. History has since proven him right. Over the last ten years, the major sporting events have abandoned the gigantism of the past and have increasingly initiated projects aimed at a future legacy.

“In the end I am convinced” said Mennea “of just one thing: that in every sport the athletes are the only ones that count; they are the protagonists, unique and irreplaceable”. Of all his quotes, this one is surely destined to last forever.

A ceremony was held today commemorating this unrivalled hero of Italian and world sport at 10.01 a.m. (a tribute to his Italian record time in the 100 metres, only beaten in 2018 by Filippo Tortu) in the Stadio dei Marmi “Pietro Mennea” at the Foro Italico, named after the great man himself.

Track cycling: aerodynamic tests for seven Azzurri in the Wind Tunnel in Milan

• ROAD TO PARIS 2024

The two days of aerodynamic testing for the Italian national track cycling team, hosted at the Wind Tunnel at the Politecnico di Milano, have come to a conclusion.

Under the coordination of Roberto Amadio, team manager of the national teams, and Marco Villa, Head Coach of Italy’s track team, and with the support of technicians from CONI’s Institute of Medicine and Sports Science and the Politecnico di Milano, numerous tests were carried out relating to the athletes' seated positions at airspeeds of between 50 and 60 km/h.

These tests are particularly important ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. According to the technical regulations of the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale), indeed, any changes to race equipment must be submitted, approved and frozen before the World Championships scheduled to get underway in Glasgow in August 2023.

Consequently, all possible combinations of seat positions and adjustments, handlebars, wheels, frames, helmets and sports clothing must be tested and optimised for each individual athlete by that deadline.

Martina Alzini, Elisa Balsamo, Rachele Barbieri, Chiara Consonni, Martina Fidanza, Manlio Moro and Letizia Paternoster took part in the tests.

Olympic qualifying tournament pools drawn: women in Poland, men in Brazil

• VOLLEYBALL

The draw for the women’s and men’s volleyball qualifying tournaments for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was held today in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Italian women’s national team will play their pool in Poland, where they will take on the hosts, the United States, Germany, Thailand, Colombia, South Korea and Slovenia. 

“Playing in Europe is a positive factor” commented coach Davide Mazzanti, “because it will allow us to train more. Undoubtedly the strongest teams in the group are the United States and Poland. We will then have to pay great attention to Germany and Thailand, both of whom play a particular kind of volleyball” the coach concluded. 

Meanwhile in Brazil , the men’s Italian team will face the hosts, Iran, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, the Czech Republic and Qatar. 

“Ours is certainly a very challenging round” said coach Ferdinando De Giorgi. “We will obviously face Brazil, the hosts and always a very difficult team; then there will be Cuba, Iran and the Ukraine itself, which are constantly evolving teams. Of course we are talking about an Olympic qualifying tournament, so all the challenges will be very tricky to face. It will be important to play with great determination, without thinking too much about the opponents. We will try to bring all our qualities to the field and then we will see game by game how far we have got”.

Each of the six qualifying tournaments will put two Olympic quotas up for grabs (six in total for women and six for men). China, Japan and Poland will host the women’s competitions from 16-24 September 2023, while Brazil, China and Japan will stage the men’s events from 30 September-8 October of the same year.

A total of 24 teams (12 women’s and 12 men’s) will take part in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: France (qualified as the host nation); six national teams qualified by way of Olympic tournaments and five based on world rankings, which will be updated at the conclusion of the Volleyball Nations League 2024 group stage. (Here the #RoadtoParis2024). The tournament will be held in South Paris Arena 1. 

OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENTS

ITALY WOMEN 

POOL C (Poland) – Poland, Italy, United States, Germany, Thailand, Colombia, South Korea, Slovenia

ITALY MEN

POOL A (Brazil) – Brazil, Italy, Iran, Cuba, Ukraine, Germany, Czech Republic, Qatar

(Photo: FIPAV)

At the Giulio Onesti Olympic Preparation Centre, the first Italian team meeting ahead of the Olympic qualifications

• BREAKING

Today, at the Giulio Onesti Olympic Preparation Centre at the Acqua Acetosa, the first of the Italian breaking team’s gatherings in preparation for qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Games came to an end.

For the six Olympic hopefuls in training – under the supervision of coach Kacyo and athletic trainer Flavio Mancina – the appointment on the agenda is the second stage of the WDSF Breaking for Gold Series scheduled in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 April.

From 28 to 30 March, the Italian B-girls and B-boys will undergo technical and health tests in collaboration with CONI’s Olympic Preparation and the Italian National Olympic Committee’s Institute of Medicine and Sport Science.

Italy got off to the best possible start on its way to the five-ring event thanks to B-girl Anti-Antilai Sandrini, who managed to finish third in the opening leg in Kitakyushu (Japan).

Breaking will make its Olympic debut in Paris 2024, after having been introduced at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Games.  

New Italia Team website now online. Follow the Azzurri with #roadtoparis2024

• CONI

#roadtoparis2024. With 500 days to go before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the Italia Team website dedicated to the five-ring event – scheduled to take place in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024 – is now online.

The website, put together by the CONI Communication Office and accessible at www.parigi2024.coni.it will follow the Azzurri on their route to qualification and subsequently during the Games themselves. It will keep fans and insiders updated about the results of the Italians involved in the competition, with news and photo galleries relating to the Azzurri mission. There will also be live broadcasts and video content from Casa Italia: the esteemed CONI hospitality house, which is increasingly turning into a media factory, will celebrate its 40th anniversary in France. 

In the run-up to the Olympic event, the site – online in Italian and English – will offer ample coverage of Italia Team’s qualifiers (to date five Olympic quotas have been won for Paris 2024) with a detailed schedule of the qualifying events and a useful overview of the regulations involved in each discipline.

It will also offer a window on the OTT ItaliaTeamTV platform and digital content produced by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) by and for Italian athletes.

And in addition: information on the competition calendar and all the venues where the medals will be awarded, with a section dedicated to previous editions and the all-time results achieved by historic Italian champions at the Games. The past and the future of the Italia Team can be found at www.parigi2024.coni.it