The eternal Gregorio Paltrinieri wins bronze in the 800m freestyle: tenth medal for Italia Team at the Games

• SWIMMING

A magnificent Gregorio Paltrinieri made his podium debut at the Paris 2024 Games.

On the fourth evening of swimming finals at the Defence Arena, the brilliant athlete from Carpi claimed bronze in the 800m freestyle, confirming his status among the top three at the Olympic level following the silver he won in Tokyo three years ago. 

The Azzurro (photo by Roberto Di Tondo/CONI), who secured the third-best time overall in the heats (7:42.48), was in contention for victory for a large part of the final race but had to settle for third place in the last 50 metres after being overtaken by Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen (7:38.19) and the American Bobby Finke (+0.56). Paltrinieri finished behind them, touching the wall 1.19 seconds behind the leader. 

For Italia Team, this marks the tenth medal at the Parisian edition of the Olympics, the third in individual swimming events after the two golds secured by Nicolò Martinenghi (100m breaststroke) and Thomas Ceccon (100m backstroke).

Le Fate shine with silver: Italia women’s team on the Olympic podium after 96 years

• ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS

A legendary achievement by the artistic gymnastics team, known as Le Fate, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The performance of the quintet made up of Manila Esposito, Alice D’Amato, Angela Andreoli, Giorgia Villa, and Elisa Iorio was a heartwarming one at the Bercy Arena, securing a fabulous silver medal and bringing the Italian women back to the podium in the Olympic team all-around event for the first time in 96 years, after the country’s silver at the Amsterdam 1928 edition.

The Azzurre (photo Simone Ferraro/CONI), who scored the second-best mark in the qualifications (166.861), confirmed their runner-up position on the podium at the end of the final, finishing with 41.665 on the vault, 42.655 on the uneven bars, 41.199 on the beam, and 39.965 on the floor exercise, for a total score of 165.494. The only team to surpass the tricolour team was the United States (171.296), while Brazil (164.497) and Great Britain (164.263) finished in third and fourth positions respectively, with Great Britain attempting unsuccessfully to challenge Italy's second place in the final rotation.

Azzurre épée champions at the Grand Palais: Italy beats France in overtime for the gold medal

• FENCING

Italy climbs to the top of the podium in the women's épée team event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

On the piste of the Grand Palais, gold went to the quartet of Rossella Fiamingo, Alberta Santuccio, Giulia Rizzi, and Mara Navarria, who, after decisively defeating Egypt (39-26) and China (45-24) in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively, triumphed over the host nation France in a tension-filled final with a 30-29 victory in overtime. 

For the Azzurra women’s épée team (photo by Luca Pagliaricci/CONI), this result surpasses their previous best, the silver from Atlanta 1996, marking their best ever Olympic achievement. It means that Italia Team has secured its 11th medal of this Paris edition, and its third gold, following the victories in swimming by Nicolò Martinenghi (100m breaststroke) and Thomas Ceccon (100m backstroke).

Foil: Filippo Macchi wins silver and steps onto the Olympic podium for the first time

• FENCING

Filippo Macchi nearly pulled off a remarkable feat at the Paris 2024 Games.

At the Grand Palais, the 22-year-old from Pontedera secured silver, earning his first Olympic career medal on his debut. 

After receiving a bye in the first round, the athlete from Pisa (photo by Augusto Bizzi/CONI) defeated China's Jie Xu (15-10) and Japan's Kyosuke Matsuyama (15-11) in the round of 32 and round of 16, respectively. In the quarter-finals, he prevailed 15-9 against Egypt’s Mohamed Hamza, and in the semi-finals, he dispatched the United States' Nick Itkin with a 15-11 scoreline. In the final bout, leading 14-12, he succumbed to three consecutive strikes from Hong Kong's Cheung Ka Long, who narrowly won 15-14.

Magnificent Thomas Ceccon: triumphing in the 100 metres backstroke to secure Italia Team’s second gold

• SWIMMING

An extraordinary Thomas Ceccon lit up the third evening of the swimming finals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In the pool at the Defense Arena, the prodigy from Thiene triumphed in the 100 metres backstroke, delivering Italia Team their second gold medal of this Olympics.

The Azzurro (photo by Simone Ferraro/CONI), having recorded the second-fastest time in the semi-finals (52.58), improved to 52.00 in the final, finishing ahead of China’s Jiayu Xu (52.32) and the United States' Ryan Murphy (52.39).

This marks the seventh gold in the history of Italian swimming at the Games, the first in this speciality. Ceccon, having won three Olympic relay medals, achieved the satisfaction of his first individual podium (although he won four at Buenos Aires 2018 in the Youth Olympic Games), after narrowly missing out three years ago at the Tokyo edition.

First gold for Italia Team at Paris 2024: a stunning Nicolò Martinenghi wins the 100 metres breaststroke

• SWIMMING

Nicolò Martinenghi is the first Italia Team athlete to secure a gold medal at Paris 2024. 

The Azzurro triumphed in the 100 metres breaststroke with a time of 59.03. The silver medal was shared by Britain's Adam Peaty and the United States' Nic Fink (both 59.05).

This is the sixth gold medal in the history of Italian swimming at the Olympic Games, while Martinenghi (photo by Simone Ferraro/CONI) celebrates his third Olympics career medal after his bronzes in Tokyo 2020 in the same 100 metres breaststroke and the 4x100 metres medley relay.

Historic double podium for the Azzurri in the 10-metre pistol: Maldini wins silver, Monna takes bronze

• SHOOTING

Italia Team made history at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

In shooting, the fourth and fifth medals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were achieved by Federico Nilo Maldini and Paolo Monna, who claimed silver and bronze, respectively, in the 10-metre air pistol event.

This marks a historic double podium (photo by Ferdinando Mezzelani/CONI). Never before have two Azzurri finished simultaneously in the top three in this Olympic event, with Italy celebrating once again in the discipline following Roberto Di Donna's gold in Atlanta 1996 and Luca Tesconi's silver in London 2012. 

Maldini and Monna, after recording the second-best (581/600-16x) and fifth-best (579/600-18x) scores in the qualification session, finished their finals with scores of 240.0 and 218.6, respectively. The gold, however, was claimed by China's Yu Xie (240.9), who managed to prevail in the last series of two shots against Maldini.

Italia Team scores a hat-trick at Paris 2024: bronze medal for the Azzurri in the 4x100 freestyle relay

• SWIMMING

Italia Team secures third medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

On the first evening of the swimming finals at the Defense Arena, the Italia Team claimed a bronze medal. The quartet of Alessandro Miressi, Thomas Ceccon, Paolo Conte Bonin, and Manuel Frigo (photo by Simone Ferraro/CONI) achieved this success.

The gold medal went to the United States (3:09.28), who managed to finish ahead of both Australia (+1.07) and the Azzurri (+1.42), showing remarkable resilience by maintaining their performance despite competing in the seventh lane following their sixth-place finish in the morning qualifiers (3:12.94).

For Italy, this marks a continued presence on the Olympic podium in this discipline, following the silver medal won three years ago in Tokyo.

Sabre: Luigi Samele claims bronze at Paris 2024 and confirms his Olympic podium status

• FENCING

Luigi Samele's roar echoed around the Grand Palais, bringing Italia Team its second medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The champion from Foggia, supported by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, secured the bronze medal in men's sabre, returning to the Olympic individual podium three years after his silver medal at the Tokyo Games.

The Azzurro (photo by Augusto Bizzi/CONI), after a bye in the first round, defeated Canadian Shaul Gordon 15-10 in the round of 32, then overcame compatriot Luca Curatoli 15-12 in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, he used his greater experience to defeat Mohamed Amer 15-13 after the Egyptian made a comeback attempt in the final touches. In the semi-final, he was clearly defeated 15-5 by Korean Sanguk Oh, but in the match for the Olympic podium, he held his nerve and triumphed 15-12 against another Egyptian, Ziad Elsissy, who was the number one seed.

First Italian medal at Paris 2024: Ganna takes silver in the time trial in front of President Mattarella

• CYCLING

Filippo Ganna is the first Italia Team athlete to secure a medal at Paris 2024.

The Azzurro finished the cycling time trial with a time of 36:27.08, earning the silver medal. Only Belgium's Remco Evenepoel did better, winning in 36:12.16. The podium was completed by another Belgian athlete, Wout van Aert, who finished third with a time of 36:37.79.

The other Azzurro in the race, Alberto Bettiol, finished eighteenth with a time of 38:06.77.

The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, was in attendance at the race.

This marks the second Olympic medal in Filippo Ganna's career and his first on the road, having previously won gold in the team pursuit on the track at Tokyo 2020 alongside Simone Consonni, Francesco Lamon, and Jonathan Milan (photo by Luca Pagliaricci CONI).