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.

Record-breaking Italy says goodbye to Krakow with 100 medals, Malagò: “Fantastic”

• EUROPEAN GAMES

One hundred podiums, eleven Olympic passes and triumph in the medals table. The Italian team bids farewell to Krakow and the third edition of the European Games with record numbers. The final tally of Italian medals is impressive: 35 golds, 26 silvers and 39 bronzes, almost double the podiums won by Spain (57), Germany (63) and France (62).

The comparison with Baku 2015 (47 podiums) and Minsk 2019 (41 podiums) says a lot about the improvement of Italia Team, represented in Poland by 164 women and 165 men. In the 11 days of competition – with over 7,000 athletes competing in 28 different disciplines – the Italian team excelled across the board, gaining the mathematical certainty of triumph in the medals table with one day still to go.

No fewer than 12 medals (7 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze) came from the Italian athletics squad, which also won the European Team Championships at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzow. An exceptional points haul also came from shooting, with seven golds, one silver and one bronze, as well as from kickboxing, with 6 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes.

There was no room for improvement in modern pentathlon: Italy won both the men’s and women’s events with Giorgio Malan and Alice Sotero. Fencing did not disappoint either. In Krakow, the focus was on the team competitions, which also counted towards the European Championships, with Italia team climbing onto the podium for every weapon, eventually bringing home two golds, two silvers and as many bronzes. (photo Ferraro-Pagliaricci CONI)

“Simply fantastic! Italia Team honoured its country in the best possible manner, participating in the European Games in Krakow 2023 as one of the protagonists,” said CONI President Giovanni Malagò. “Italian athletes dominated the medals table in terms of the number of golds and the number of medals. Tonight we close a historic, record-breaking Games, in which Italian sport has once again demonstrated its strength in all disciplines.”

“My thanks,” he added, “go to the athletes, the technical staff and all the officials who have made it possible to write this wonderful, unique and indelible chapter of history. In addition to the 100 medals won, including 35 gold, 26 silver and 39 bronze, there were 11 Olympic quota passes won for the 2024 Games. The road to Paris is marked out and Italy is getting closer to its goal, well-aware of its potential, with the aim of bringing even greater joy to its supporters.”

Italy bids farewell to Krakow with Abbes Aziz Mouhiidine as flag-bearer at the closing ceremony in the Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium and is already looking ahead to the next goals. The most important is just over a year away: the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In Poland, Italia team secured two individual passes in the pentathlon with Alice Sotero and Giorgio Malan, four individual passes in boxing – Giordana Sorrentino and Irma Testa for the women, Salvatore Cavallaro and Mouhiidine for the men, bringing men’s boxing back to the Olympic Games after an absence in Tokyo 2020 – and five national quota passes thanks to Chiara Pellacani in diving, Chiara Rebagliati in archery, Mauro De Filippis and Jessica Rossi in trap and Martina Bartolomei in skeet.

The total number of Italian passes for Paris 2024 therefore rises to 17, but the summer has just begun and there will be many more cards up for grabs. The Italian team is ready, as it demonstrated at the European Games in Krakow.

Sports Minister Abodi in Krakow 2023: “I allowed myself a trip to indulge my passion”

• EUROPEAN GAMES

Two days in Krakow to savour the spirit of the European Games. The Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, allowed himself “a trip to indulge his passion” to Poland to show the government’s support for the Italia Team participating in the European Olympic Committees’ event, set to close on Sunday.

Abodi arrived in Poland in the late afternoon yesterday and then took part that evening, with the Italian Ambassador to Poland, Luca Franchetti Pardo, and the President of the EOC, Spyros Capralos, at a dinner with athletes and representatives of the Italian delegation, starting with the CONI General Secretary, Carlo Mornati, and the Head of Mission, Alessio Palombi, and of the European Committees at Casa Italia, CONI’s hospitality house.

During the day the Minister, accompanied by Mornati, attended the Italian national team events in teqball and triathlon, before subsequently moving to the Tauron Arena for the fencing, which saw Italian fencers excel in the team trials of women’s foil (gold) and men's sabre (silver).

“I hope that one day we too can host the European Games, because Rome and Italy are part of the history of Europe,” said Abodi.

Calendar 2025-2028 approved by the FIVB Board of Administration

• VOLLEYBALL

The FIVB Board of Administration has today approved the FIVB volleyball calendar from 2025-2028, including holding the FIVB Volleyball World Championships biennially and aligning it with the pre-Olympic year.  

These adjustments are part of the FIVB’s ongoing efforts to streamline the international volleyball calendar, aiming to enhance the overall fan experience while prioritising the health and wellbeing of the athletes as well as the needs of other key volleyball stakeholders.

As previously announced, the FIVB Volleyball World Championships has now expanded to include 32 teams per gender, with an enhanced competition formula that will be the same for both the men’s and women’s events. The revised format will see 32 teams divided into eight groups of four teams during the round-robin phase. The two best teams from each group will then progress to the direct knockout phase, encompassing the round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final.

The qualification process for the FIVB Volleyball World Championships will see the host(s) secure automatic qualification alongside the reigning World Champion. In addition, the top three teams from each Continental Championship will qualify, with the remaining teams earning their spots through the FIVB World Rankings at the end of the national team season in the year prior to the World Championship.

Subject to approval from the International Olympic Committee, the new volleyball calendar principles will also streamline the qualification process for the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028. The host nation (USA) will join the five Champions of the Continental Championships, the top three teams of the World Championships 2027 not yet qualified, and the three highest-ranked teams according to the World Ranking not yet qualified. 

The FIVB Board of Administration also approved the creation of a working group responsible for determining the specific dates of the FIVB Volleyball Calendar 2025-2028 and presenting this for approval. The working group is composed of Aleksandar Boričić, the FIVB 2nd Executive Vice-President and CEV President, Madelein Meppelink, a FIVB Board of Administration member and the FIVB Athletes’ Commission President, and Fabio Azevedo, a FIVB Board of Administration member and FIVB General Director.

Regarding the bidding process for upcoming editions of the FIVB World Championships, the schedule has been confirmed as follows: August 2023 for the 2025 event, April 2024 for the 2027 event, and August 2024 for the 2029 event.

The detailed volleyball calendar from 2025, along with the hosts for upcoming major events, will be announced at a later stage through official FIVB channels.

Federica Pellegrini and Francesco Totti supporting the “Let’s Move” campaign. Bach: “Sport unites us”

• OLYMPIC DAY

23 June, Olympic Day, and today, as every year, we celebrate the founding of the International Olympic Committee, founded in 1894. To mark the occasion, the IOC, in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO), has launched an initiative to inspire and motivate the world to be physically active.

“Let’s Move” targets the world population with the aim of using Olympic Day to get active, in any way possible, in any place. Projects include a digital invitation from world sporting stars such as Pau Gasol, Yusra Mardini, Allyson Felix and PV Sindhu. Also participating in the initiative are the Azzurri of the Italia Team, the CONI National Athletes Commission and champions of the calibre of Federica Pellegrini and Francesco Totti. The aim is to schedule 30 minutes of physical activity, together with them, by participating in the “Let’s Move” digital workout in every corner of the globe.

For the occasion, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach emphasised the fundamental role that sport can play in inspiring people to exercise and lead a healthy, active lifestyle: “When we play sport, we keep our minds and bodies strong and healthy. When we play sport, it inspires us to always give our best. When we play sport, it makes us dream, spreads joy and unites us. When we play sport, we live by our new Olympic motto: Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.”

“This,” added the IOC chief, “is the beauty of sport: it inspires the world to move and unites us all, as friends and as a community, regardless of where we are or what type of exercise we do.”

Se te lo dice er Pupone… alzati dal divano e cammina!💪💪💪#OlympicDay #letsmove @Olympics @Totti @Azzurri pic.twitter.com/EhrxgLlzVm

— CONI (@Coninews) June 17, 2023

Malagò at Casa Italia: “Krakow 2023 first real international test of the season”

• EUROPEAN GAMES

“In 11 sports there are passes for Paris 2024 up for grabs, nine other disciplines also offer a large points haul towards the Olympic rankings: they will be challenging competitions, Krakow 2023 is the first real test of the season.” These were the statements made by Giovanni Malagò at a press conference at Casa Italia in Krakow. The CONI President was welcomed to the Italian headquarters of the European Games 2023, the third edition of the multi-sport event dedicated to the continent’s Olympic Committees: “Casa Italia is now a real trademark,” underlined Malagò. “It’s fantastic. Watching the Italia Team athletes in their official kits, united, brings me closer to sport again.”

“The presence of Gianmarco Tamberi in the athletics team,” continued the CONI president, “gives prestige to our overall participation and makes us very proud. Athletics is the queen of the Games and he is the reigning Olympic champion. Here we have seven Olympic champions (Mauro Nespoli, Jessica Rossi, Gabriele Rossetti, Gianmarco Tamberi, Filippo Tortu, Fausto Desalu and Lorenzo Patta): we want to do better than in Minsk 2019, where we won 41 medals. We have what it takes. And there are also new sports. I expect a very good result from the hosts Poland. I also think that the small countries will win numerous medals: there will be a greater fragmentation than in the past. This challenging period for Jacobs? Today in the Italia Team there is a real sense of team spirit. Marcell experiences problems that any athlete could experience, but he is more exposed because of his popularity. I would like to add that we are also wholeheartedly behind the National Under-21 football team, which is ready to play in the European Championships, which also counts as a qualification round towards Paris 2024.”

“The European Games in Krakow are a unique event,” said CONI Secretary General Carlo Mornati. “The programme is completely new compared to the first two editions, and here in Poland the passes for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are also up for grabs.”