And there are eleven of them. The triumph on the track of Chiara Consonni and Vittoria Guazzini, the pair of Italian cyclists from Madison, has given Italy in Paris 2024 the gold that is worth the improvement of the 10 in Tokyo. The success of the two Italian track cyclists also allows them to climb the medal table, with Germany having overtaken them with the victory in the rhythmic, but immediately overtaking them again (for the sum of medals, the golds are equal). And Holland is also behind. The good result of the precious metal medals, however, also brings with it the regret for the many fourth places, the last of the day being that of the 4×100 reigning champion in Tokyo. In itself a good result, but with the bitterness of seeing Filippo Tortu in the lead at the last change, but gradually sucked in by Canada, South Africa and Great Britain. In the special – and completely virtual – ranking of cardboard medals, Italy is firmly first. And it is in the large number of fourth places that one can find a reason why the absolute record of three years ago (40 podiums, 10, 10, 20) is now far away, perhaps too far away. In Paris 2024, which is now coming to an end, Italy has already had to deal with it 19 times (in Tokyo it was eleven), taking into account that formally the judokas who stop at the foot of the podium are actually fifth (there are 2 bronzes). A number that, two days after the end of the French Games, is equivalent to first place in a ranking that is not very official and above all not very rewarding. Simplifying, however, does not help to understand what it means for an athlete to get so close to the five-ring podium. Not being able to climb there for that centimeter, for that hundredth or for that single point that can change your career.
In these two weeks, fourth places have often been greeted with tears of despair, like those shed today by the Italian volleyball team, defeated by the USA in the bronze medal match. There were also those, like the 19-year-old swimmer Benedetta Pilato, who described the evening of fourth place as “the best of her life”. Or those, like Larissa Iapichino, who called herself an idiot. Extending the “wooden” reasoning to the Italian expedition to Paris 2024, the immediate consideration is that, if even only half of the fourth places had turned into bronze, the 40 mark would have already been exceeded. History is not made with “ifs and buts”. Certainly, however, even the many wooden medals are further proof of how Italy can be considered a fully-fledged power in world sport.