A record-breaking 50 podium finishes and a third consecutive triumph in the overall medal table—after successes in Banská Bystrica 2022 and Maribor 2023—marked the conclusion of Italy Team’s outstanding campaign at the 18th Summer Edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival in Skopje. The final medal tally stands at 19 golds, 19 silvers and 12 bronzes. For the first time, North Macedonia played host to the EYOF, passing the baton to Lignano Sabbiadoro, which will stage the next edition from 24 July to 1 August 2027—22 years after hosting the 2005 Games.

The athletics programme wrapped up with three more podiums for the Azzurri. In the morning session, the women’s sprint medley relay—comprising Alessia Succo, Margherita Castellani, Laura Frattaroli and Kelly Ann Maevane Doualla Edimo (with Isabella Pastore having featured in the semi-final)—secured gold in 2:04.57, ahead of Switzerland and Poland. Caterina Caligiana claimed bronze in the women’s 800 metres, clocking 2:05.07 behind Switzerland’s Von Fluee (2:03.18) and Germany’s Weimann (2:04.36). In the afternoon, Matteo Sorci capped off the decathlon in triumphant style: the young Umbrian took gold with 7,605 points, with France’s Trochain and Switzerland’s Bruegger completing the podium.

Artistic gymnastics also brought home three medals from the final day of competition. Italy celebrated a one-two finish in the horizontal bar (photo: Ferraro/FGI), with Pietro Mazzola striking gold (13.200, dedicating the win to Lorenzo Bonicelli) and Ivan Rigon taking silver (13.000). The 17-year-old from Padua also earned a second silver in the parallel bars with a score of 13.233—sharing the podium with Switzerland’s Schumacher, while gold went to Britain’s Chowdhury.

Volleyball rounded off Italy’s medal count with two more podium finishes. The girls narrowly missed gold, falling 3-1 in the final to Turkey despite a strong start (15-25, 25-19, 25-17, 26-24). The boys secured bronze after a thrilling 3-2 win over Slovenia (25-19, 22-25, 27-29, 25-22, 15-9), with Gioele Costa leading the way with 25 points.

This evening’s closing ceremony—broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. on ItaliaTeamTV—will feature final addresses from EYOF 2025 Organising Committee President Daniel Dimevski, European Olympic Committees President Spyros Capralos, and Laura Giorgi, Mayor of Lignano Sabbiadoro, which will host the 2027 Festival.

Italy’s flagbearers for the closing ceremony will be rising sprint star Kelly Doualla, the new U18 European record holder and third fastest Italian woman ever over 100 metres, and swimmer Francesco Cecconi, who concluded the Festival with four gold medals and one silver.