2024-07-29 05:56:27
PARIS. Nicolo Martinenghi is Italy’s first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Italian won the 100m breaststroke.
After the bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago, at the Defense Arena he started timidly from lane 7 and went on to take with authority the 100m breaststroke, one of the queen races, that of the ‘crazy’ in a good sense, in the wake of a tradition that in the past had the face and magical arms of Domenico Fioravanti.
The Italian with the second 50 in recovery closed in 59”03 (certainly not a great time, but enough to seize the ‘winning moment’, as Martinenghi will happily say immediately after the race) ahead of the British Adam Peaty, already that Peaty king of the breaststroke returned to compete at very high levels after a period of confusion, and who in fact smiled at the silver of the rebirth. For him second place ex aequo with the American Fink.
“I’m speechless, except that once again I’ve shown that it’s not the time that counts but knowing how to seize the moment – the first words of the Italian who also grew up in the pool in Varese, before moving to the Circolo Aniene in Rome – I know. The weather isn’t the best, but all I care about is being on that podium and hearing the Italian anthem, even if I don’t sing it, not out of indifference, but out of superstition”.
And on the podium the Lombard champion, who also received the keys to his city Azzate, only listened to Mameli’s notes, with a smile that barely concealed his emotion, blew a kiss to the stands. “This medal is for all those who love me – he added – my family, my girlfriend.
The Italian medal table is growing: Federico Nilo Maldini won silver in the 10m pistol event, Paolo Monna the bronze.
L’Women’s Italian Volleyball in his debut he barely beat the Dominican Republic by three sets to one.
Disappointment Arianna Errigo: the Italian foil fencer, flag bearer for Italy, was eliminated. ‘Out due to a referee’s error’, she complains. And no bronze for Volpi either. Odette Giuffrida also did badly in judo, defeated in the race for gold and in the ‘final’ for bronze.
2024-07-29 05:56:27