Today friendly match between Blengini’s Italian team and Egypt

The Italian male volleyball team warms up its engines before the Olympic Games, and in the afternoon will take part in the second and last closed-door friendly match in Rio de Janeiro. The Italian team, which drew 2-2 with Russia on Sunday, will face Egypt at 04:00 pm in the Tijuca Tenis Clube premises. The match is also closed-doors, but access is allowed to media accredited for the Olympic Games.

Today flagbearer Federica Pellegrini lands in Rio with the Italian swimming team

The Italian Team Flagbearer, Federica Pellegrini, lands in Rio de Janeiro. The Olympic champion, already in Brazil with the other members of the Italian swimming team, is leaving Santos today, where it did its last group training, and will reach the site of the Olympic Games in the early afternoon.
Ilaria Bianchi, Silvia Di Pietro, Erika Ferraioli, Sara Franceschi, Luca Marin, Aglaia Pezzato, Andrea Toniato, Luisa Trombetti and Federico Turrini will arrive in Rio alongside the Italian team flagbearer.
The other Italian team swimmers will instead stay in Santos a day longer and will discover the atmosphere of the Village only from tomorrow.

From fencing to tennis, other Italia team athletes arriving in Rio

The Italian athlete delegation in Rio is rapidly growing in numbers. Over the next few hours, a new flight will leave Roma Fiumicino Airport towards Brazil, with on board a group of Italia team members who will take part in the Olympic Games, which will be inaugurated on 5 August.
Ready to board is Elisa di Francisca, Olympic gold in London 2012 in individual and team foil, together with Francesca Clapcich and Giulia Conti, sailing champions. Those departing include also tennis players Paolo Lorenzi, Andreas Seppi and Karin Knapp, the horsewoman Valentina Truppa, the target shooting Italian team athlete Marco De Nicolo and fencers Martina Batini and Alice Volpi, who will experience the Olympic Games as sparring partners in the training sessions of the female team engaged on the piste.
About to land in Rio are the rest of the fencing team and the Italian athletes whose flight had been cancelled yesterday due to a technical problem. The group is comprised of épée champion Rossella Fiamingo, Paolo Pizzo, Enrico Garozzo and Marco Fichera (épée), Diana Bacosi, Chiara Cainero, Luigi Lodde and Gabriele Rossetti (skeet shooting) and the 470 sailors Elena Berta and Roberta Caputo.

Angela Ruggiero to head IOC Athletes’ Commission

American ice hockey Olympic champion Angela Ruggiero was elected as the new Chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Athletes’ Commission, replacing outgoing Chair Claudia Bokel. IOC President Thomas Bach officially appointed Angela Ruggiero during today’s joint meeting between the IOC Athletes’ Commission and the IOC Executive Board, following a vote by the members of the Commission.

Angela Ruggiero is the current Vice-Chair of the Commission, which acts as the voice of the athletes within the IOC and the Olympic Movement, and is a former ice hockey player who has played more games for Team USA than any other man or woman.
“Congratulations to Angela Ruggiero on her successful election,” said President Bach. We will welcome her to the IOC Executive Board. I am sure that, with her determination and her great experience, she will make a huge contribution. The EB will be very happy to engage with her and all the members of the Athletes’ Commission for the sake of all the athletes. I would already like to thank Claudia Bokel for the great work she has done, and we offer her our full support in the important work she has to do in these final few weeks of her term of office.”

After the meeting, Angela Ruggiero said: “I am grateful for the trust my fellow IOC Athletes’ Commission members have put in me and my work. It is an important time within the Olympic Movement and our Commission has a great responsibility. I will make sure our voices aren’t just heard, but that they are effective and that we empower athletes around the world to do the same.” Tony Estanguet was in turn elected as Vice-Chair. 

Thomas Fabbiano also qualified. In Rio 308 Italian athletes

Another Italian athlete qualified in Tennis at the Olympic Games in Rio. Thanks to the changes in enrolments as a result of some cancellations, Thomas Fabbiano join the Italian team becoming the seventh athlete together with Sara Errani, Fabio Fognini, Karin Knapp, Paolo Lorenzi, Andreas Seppi and Roberta Vinci. Fabbiano is currently 110th in the ATP rankings.

The Italian athletes qualified for the Brazilian Olympics are now 308 (164 men and 144 women).

Tennis, Fabbiano also qualified. In Rio 308 Italian athletes

Another Italian athlete qualified in Tennis at the Olympic Games in Rio. Thanks to the changes in enrolments as a result of some cancellations, Thomas Fabbiano join the Italian team becoming the seventh athlete together with Sara Errani, Fabio Fognini, Karin Knapp, Paolo Lorenzi, Andreas Seppi and Roberta Vinci. Fabbiano is currently 110th in the ATP rankings.

The Italian athletes qualified for the Brazilian Olympics are now 308 (164 men and 144 women).

CONI top representatives fly to Rio: Malagò and Fabbricini in Brazil together with the Italian athletes of 8 disciplines

The countdown in full swing. The opening ceremony of the 31st edition of the Olympic Games is approaching and the Italian delegation of athletes begins to settle in Rio de Janeiro. This evening, the largest delegation ever, led by the President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò,and the Secretary General, Roberto Fabbricini, leaves for Rio. In fact, in Brazil they will join the male and female road cycling teams, two formations of fencing, women's sabre and men's foil precisely, gymnastics, judo, rowing, open water, sailing (Giorgio Poggi), swimming and 11 athletes involved in the sport of athletics (with destination São Paulo, where the preparation period preceding the transfer in Rio are held). 

Olympic Channel to launch on 21 August 2016

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced the launch date for its ground-breaking new media destination, the Olympic Channel, where fans can experience the power of sport and the Olympic Movement all year round. Starting Sunday 21 August, after the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the Olympic Channel platform will be available worldwide via a mobile app for Android and iOS devices and at olympicchannel.com. 

In addition, athletes and fans can follow the Olympic Channel on its newly launched social media handles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, and sign up for Olympic Channel updates at olympicchannel.com. 

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “The launch of the Olympic Channel on 21st August is the start of an exciting new journey to connect the worldwide audience with the Olympic Movement all year round. Fans will be able to follow sports, athletes and the stories behind the Olympic Games. The Olympic Channel will inspire us all and reach out to new generations of athletes and fans.”

With the goal of providing a new way to engage young people, fans and new audiences in the Olympic Movement, the Olympic Channel is a free platform that will present original programming, live sports events, news and highlights offering additional exposure for sports and athletes all year round. Olympic Channel original programming will include both short-form and long-form content, focusing on elite athletes, their quest for success and sport around the world.  

Designed for a global audience, the Olympic Channel digital platform will showcase content from around the world, and will initially be offered in English. Additional features at launch will include fantastic content as video on demand, as well as individual sport pages within a user-friendly and mobile-responsive interface, subtitled in nine different languages.

The Olympic Channel includes an option to register for a richer and more personalised experience, where users can follow their favourite athletes, teams, sports and countries to receive an individually-tailored content selection. The dynamic environment also allows videos to be easily shared across social media, and encourages users to regularly interact with the Olympic Movement.

After the launch of the global digital product in August, the Olympic Channel intends to foster partnerships with other Olympic stakeholders, including rights-holding broadcasters and National Olympic Committees to develop localised versions of the Olympic Channel. Localised versions will offer language-specific user experiences on digital platforms, and will also include linear television programming options.

The women's eights and lightweight double sculls have also qualified: 309 Italian athletes in Rio

Rowing qualifies another two boats for Rio 2016. The women's eights and lightweight double sculls will now take part in the 31st edition of the Summer Olympics, by virtue of the decision taken by the International Federation regarding the situation with Russia.

Olympic athletes from Rome received in Campidiglio on the eve of the Games

In Campidoglio this afternoon, CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee) President Giovanni Malagò, together with the Secretary General Roberto Fabbricini, accompanied a delegation of roman athletes who qualified for the Olympic Games. The Azzurri team had been invited by the Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi and the Deputy Mayor, with the Minister for Sports, Daniele Frongia, who hosted the representatives departing for Rio, at the Municipality. Frongia, who together with the Mayor are involved in other Institutional Fronts, pointed out that: "As a former athlete, I recall these initiatives within the institutions as somewhat boring. But we want to emphasize that Campidoglio represents the community at large. And the whole of Rome is with you, proud of you. Thank you and good luck." The ceremony was attended by the following athletes: Claudia Cesarini, Riccardo De Luca and Pierpaolo Petroni (Modern Pentathlon), Marco De Luca, Sonia Malavisi and Maria Benedicta Chigbolu (Athletics), Alice Sinno and Elena Berta (Sailing), Odette Giuffrida (Judo) and Daniele Lupo (Beach Volleyball). Present in the room there was also, the team leader of the M5S in Campidoglio, Paolo Ferrara and the Chairman of the Capitolina Sports Committee, Angelo Diario.

President's Malagò’s message was one of pride: "I would like to thank Deputy Mayor, Frongia and the Advisors Diario and Ferrara, because we speak the same language. All three have wanted to highlight their past as sportsmen and I also have that in my genes. There is this commonality and this trip, we should not divulge anything. This initiative came about because of the Mayor’s consent; we were expecting something of this nature to occur because in other cities and regions of Italy, here and there, these initiatives are deeply felt. I am the National President but of Roman origin and I am very happy about this initiative. I congratulate you and I will be just as happy, if we are invited to return here because I know how much you have done. Look at these ambassadors of our city: they are fantastic, honest, successful and they represent the positive aspects of the city".