“It’s obvious that it wasn’t the result I was hoping for, it was a complicated day like all the others, at the Olympics it’s never an easy day, in the decisive moments I always chased her, about the decision in the last thrust I don’t agree, but my sport is also this, I was wrong to arrive 14-14, with the decision in the hands of the referee this can happen, unfortunately it didn’t go well”. This was stated by the Italian foil fencer Arianna Errigo, flag bearer in the opening ceremony and from Reggio by adoption (her mother is from Condofuri), after her elimination in the quarterfinals in the women’s individual foil tournament in Paris 2024. “I don’t want to be sad, I’m sorry, but this is my fourth Olympics, I know how much effort I put in to be here a year and four months after my children were born (she gets emotional, ed.), I can’t be sad because I’m here as a flag bearer, it’s the most beautiful thing an athlete can aspire to, I’m excited, it’s wonderful that even at 36 years old I can still feel these emotions”.
The anger is great: “The thrust was mine. Losing due to a referee’s error is disappointing, even if it’s part of my sport: but maybe I was wrong, before, to let it go to 14-14. Being here with my family – the Italian flag bearer added to Rai – is a beautiful experience. But I can’t hide the fact that this wasn’t the result I wanted”.
On the eve, the forecasts gave the three Italian athletes certain protagonists of the individual event of the 2024 Olympics, with excellent medal chances for all of them, in particular for Alice Volpi and Arianna Errigo. And instead in the end the balance is totally negative with Volpi fourth and the flag bearer eliminated in the quarter-finals, just like the young Martina Favaretto. “We are disappointed, all of us, me first, then the girls and our fans”, the words of coach Stefano Cerioni, called back precisely to bring women’s foil back to the Olympic podium after the disappointments of Tokyo, when Volpi always finished in fourth place in the individual event and the team grabbed a hard-fought bronze. In Paris, for the individual event, the regret is greater because Italy had come to the French Games strong with excellent results achieved in recent months. “I certainly didn’t expect a finale like that, not so much for how the girls shot – the Italian coach emphasized – but because we always made mistakes on the decisive thrusts”. And yet, the morning had given different sensations with the three Italians, even with some difficulty due to the tension of the Olympic stake at stake, they had been able to pass the first rounds unscathed and to present themselves in the quarterfinals with the clear possibility of all three going to the semifinals. If that had been the case, Italy would have brought home at least two medals, but everyone’s thoughts had even gone back to London 2012 with the legendary all-Italian podium Valentina Vezzali-Elisa Di Francisca-Ilaria Salvatori in the individual event. On the platform in that case too there was Cerioni.
Here in Paris, history turned its back on Italy. Only Volpi managed to beat the German Sauer, while Favaretto was defeated by the Canadian Harvey at the last thrust, just like Errigo who thought he had won 15-14 with Scruggs, but a highly disputed verdict awarded the victory to the American. “For me – Cerioni told the journalists – that thrust should have been awarded to Arianna, after all not even the two referees agreed. But in our sport it can happen”. So we got to the semifinals: Volpi could do nothing against a Lee Kiefer who seemed unbeatable. And in fact the American in the final for the gold made a single bite of her compatriot Scruggs. At that point, the only hope of a medal was in Volpi’s foil in the bronze final against Canadian Harvey: the Italian, after starting badly (4-10), managed to bring the match back to parity, but, also affected by cramps, had to surrender 15-12, closing the terrible day for the Italian team. “It went badly: we dreamed of all being in the semifinals and instead it went very badly”, regretted Volpi, who now, together with Errigo, Volpi and Francesca Palumbo, will have to recharge her batteries for the team competition scheduled for August 1st. The last call for women’s foil.