Sergio Mattarella, big party with all the Azzurri
The words of Sergio Mattarella
It closes an exciting, overwhelming and satisfying journey for a team that è already entered the history of Italian sports. The Salone dei Corazzieri of the Quirinale Palace in Rome hosted the ceremony of the handing back of the Italian flag by the Paris 2024 blue standard bearers to the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.
Arianna Errigo and Gianmarco Tamberi for the Olympic Games, Ambra Sabatini for the Paralympic Games. It was they who led the large troop of athletes composed of Paris medalists and those who finished their respective competitions in fourth place, for the first time invited to the Ceremony by the will of the Head of State. Present were the top leaders of tricolor sport: Giovanni Malagò, President of CONI, Luca Pancalli, President of CIP, CONI Secretary General and Head of the Azzurro Mission in Paris Carlo Mornati, CONI Vice Presidents Silvia Salis and Claudia Giordani, numerous federal presidents and the coaches who built with athletes and athletes the Paris successes.
In the French capital, the Italy Team signed the best medal tally in its history at the Olympic Games: 40 medals (12 golds, 13 silvers and 15 bronzes), the same number as the record set in Tokyo three years ago but with two more golds (12 to 10) and three more silvers (13 to 10). Ninth place in the medal table confirms our country in the world sports elite (seventh place overall in the number of podiums, third at the European level behind Great Britain and hosts France). Since the last four days of Rio 2016, Italy has è never been off the Olympic podium. A streak that è also continued in Tokyo and Paris reaching 36 consecutive days and remaining open in view of the next big goal: Los Angeles 2028.
“È truly a great pleasure for me to meet you here – the words of Mattarella, who presented a commemorative medal to all athletes present –. This meeting intends to prolong the celebration of sports that began with the delivery of flags and developed in Paris. It would like to recapture the engaging and exciting spirit that you so well interpreted and brought to life at the Games. Congratulations on doing better than Tokyo: it was difficult. It is striking that Italy has collected at least one medal every day. We are the only country with this characteristic, è great reason for satisfaction. There have been premonitory signs of these successes of a sporting nature but also of other kinds. It is said that rain brings good luck: we caught a lot of it that July 26. We could take stock of these extraordinary moments of sports that we experienced: the excellent state of health of Italian sports stands out. È the quality of our two teams emerged. And the satisfactions continue, as at the World Cycling Championships these days. The fourth-place finishers represent the athletes who, although without standing on the podium, have brilliantly participated: è the Olympic spirit. They are here to represent the solidity of our sports movement. The medals are not due to individual isolated champions, but to a healthy and steadily growing movement, growth to be supported in every way. We all remember the exciting moments we experienced, the renewed successes, the difficult moments: I say to Gianmarco Tamberi and Ambra Sabatini that they won the medals with their generous participation and everyone’s affection. I would have been happy to follow your competitions in attendance: è it was only possible for a few, but I assure you that I followed many of them on TV. Thank you all: you experienced exciting days, an experience that è a great achievement, but I know what it cost you. Thank you for your behavior that induced the kids to get involved in sports. Sincere congratulations to everyone. And now Milan Cortina 2026”.
