Italy’s modern pentathlon squad was welcomed to Palazzo H by CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio following the conclusion of a rich and rewarding season.

Athletes Matteo Bovenzi, Matteo Cicinelli, Giorgio Malan, Roberto Micheli, Valentina Martinescu, Maria Beatrice Mercuri, Alice Rinaudo and Aurora Tognetti were joined by FIPM Extraordinary Commissioner Gianni Massimo Cuneo, Deputy Commissioner Daniele Masala, Secretary General Salvatore Sanzo and Technical Director Giancarlo Duranti.

Buonfiglio congratulated the team on their performances this year, recalling his own youthful connection with the sport: “As a boy I nearly took up pentathlon when I was training in Posillipo, before choosing canoeing because there was no pentathlon in Milan. I believe it is a discipline that has always been kept a little on the margins, yet it demonstrates the completeness of an athlete. That is why I asked the Commissioner to bring you here: I wanted the pleasure of meeting you. You are achieving significant results and we must do more to highlight them. You are witnesses to a model of behaviour that leads to protagonism. It is pointless to drift along — we must live, and to live we must be protagonists. If we play, we must win, and realise the value within us. I really wanted to meet you”.

The squad’s recent highlights include Aurora Tognetti’s individual bronze and the women’s team victory at the World Championships in Kaunas — the latest medals for a group determined to look ahead to Los Angeles 2028, still carrying the pride of Giorgio Malan’s Olympic bronze in Paris 2024.