Italy is on Olympus in women’s team epee. Giulia Rizzo, Rossella Fiammingo, Mara Navarria and Alberta Santuccio defeated France 30 to 29 in the final held at the Grand Palais in Paris. At the last thrust. At the Grand Palais, where in an infinite echo of what happens in all the facilities the spectators wanted to sing the Marseillaise, instead the notes of Mameli’s anthem resound. In Paris the tricolor flies high, but it is the white, red and green one. The French one is a little lower, in the space reserved for silver. The sword of the Italian women’s team becomes all gold. In the wonderful facility, a few meters from the Champs-Elysées and with the five-ring Eiffel Tower in the background, Alberta Santuccio, Rossella Fiamingo, Giulia Rizzi and Mara Navarria performed magic, transforming the continuous roar of the eight thousand home spectators into a deafening silence. 30-29 in overtime (the extra minute) with the last, wonderful thrust by Santuccio. It is the result of a final that, at dinner time on a very hot summer evening, makes Italy rejoice. The ever more glittering Italian medal table has risen to eleven medals: three golds, four silvers and four bronzes.
It is also historic silver for the Italian women’s artistic gymnastics at the Paris 2024 Games. Italy finished in second place in the team competition, behind only the United States led by superstar Simon Biles. The Italian gymnasts had won only one Olympic silver in history, in 1928 in Amsterdam.
Paltrinieri’s bronze
Gregorio Paltrinieri wins bronze in the 800 freestyle at the Paris Olympics. He is the first Italian to win a medal in three different Olympics. “Today the strategy was new, I had been waiting for a long time to do something like this. I’m not that fast anymore, but I have sharpened other cards. I have been waiting for a race like this for a long time, I’m happy. This means everything”: this is what Gregorio Paltrinieri said after the bronze in the 800 freestyle in Paris. “I convince myself that I’m fine when I get here – he adds to the Rai microphone – Sometimes I’m convinced that I can’t do it anymore, these are the moments. Getting a medal in the first race … After the Sette Colli, where I swam terribly, we even thought about not doing the 800”
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Today was another intense day of racing in Paris, where the 2024 Olympics are taking place.
Men’s Volleyball
Second victory for the Italian men’s volleyball team in Pool B. After beating Brazil 3-1 in their debut, coach De Giorgi’s Azzurri got rid of Egypt 3-0. The partial scores: 25-15, 25-16, 25-20. The next match for Giannelli and his teammates, who have already qualified for the quarterfinals, is the match against Poland scheduled for Saturday 3 August (5 pm). Marco Mengoni, who attended the match, also celebrated the victory at the end of the match with the Azzurri.
Judo
There is nothing to be done for the Italian judo team, which for the fourth consecutive day sees its dream of a medal vanish. Just as it happened in the semifinal, Antonio Esposito is trapped in a vice from which he cannot free himself and suffers an ippon. The bronze thus goes to Makhmadbekov, an athlete from Tajikistan who came through the repechage, while Italy is left licking its wounds for the third bronze that vanished. This time, at least, without controversy regarding the final result. Antonio Esposito in the semifinal had been beaten by the Japanese Olympic champion Takanori Nagase in the semifinal of the Olympic judo tournament, 81kg category. The Italian will now face the Tajikistan judoka Somon Makhmadbekov in the final for the bronze.
Tennis
Resounding defeat for Jasmine Paolini. Schmiedlova wins, beating the Italian 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. Paolini can really eat her hands. Mission accomplished for the Italian tennis player, who crushes the Argentine Navone in the round of 16 of the Olympic singles tournament 7-6 6-3. His opponent in the round of 16 will be the American Fritz.
Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini have reached the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles at the Paris 2024 Games, held on the red clay of Roland Garros. The two Italians, third seed favorites, won against the French Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry with a score of 5-7 6-3 10-8. In the quarterfinals, Errani and Paolini will face the winners of the Boulter/Watson – Haddad Maia/Stefani match (number six in the draw).
I swim
Simona Quadarella won the second heat of the 1500 in 15’51″19 and with one heat still to go she is already certain of qualifying for the final. Alessandro Miressi also advances to the semifinals in the 100 freestyle, the race of races that here in Paris 1924 was won by Weissmuller-Tarzan. The American Jack Alexy is the fastest in 47″57, dragged by the crowd is Maxime Grousset at 47″70, then David Popovici fresh from the triumph in the 200 freestyle and author of 47″92. The Turin native has the seventh time in 48″24, while Leonardo Deplano is eliminated in 23rd place in 48″82. He will be able to say he beat Leon Marchand, our Razzo in the 200 butterfly heats: Alberto Razzetti almost beat Federico Burdisso’s Italian record by 50 hundredths, swimming in 1’54″78 (25″41, 54″33, 1’24″19) and clocked the fourth fastest time overall behind Hungarian Olympian Kristof Milak, who has faced serious mental health problems, who clocked 1’53″92, and ahead of Canadian Ilya Kharun by 14 hundredths. Third is Noè Ponti, the Swiss coached by Italian Massimo Meloni, at 1’54″77 and 12th is Giacomo Carini, who clocked 1’55″81 (25″67, 54″58, 1’24″85).
Beach volley
Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti beat Egyptians Marwa Abdelhady and Goaa Elghobashy 2-0 (21-16, 21-10) in the second match of Group A of beach volleyball.
Skeet shooting
No Olympic final of Trap, Olympic specialty of clay shooting, for the Italian veteran John Pellielloat his eighth Olympics, and for the Taranto policeman Mauro De Filippis. While the last qualifying round is still underway, there are already seven shooters who have done better than the two from the Italian Team, and therefore Pellielo and De Filippis are out of the final six. Both closed with a score of 121/125, but there are the Chinese Qi Ying, the British Nathan Hales, and the Australian James Willett at 123, and the Croatian Olympian Giovanni Cernogoraz, the American Derrick Scott Mein, the Chinese Haicheng Yu and the Guatemalan Jean Pierre Cardenas at 122. A real shame, especially considering how the qualification had gone at a certain point when he was first. But in the last five clays, two sensationally errors.
The first day dedicated to the Women’s Trap Shooting Qualifications to the Paris Olympics 2024: after 75 plates of the 125 total he is part of the group at third place Silvana Maria Stanco, while it stands out in the quartet in seventh place Jessica Rossi. Both the Italian teams pay a heavy price 23 in today’s third and final serieswith the difference between the two Italian ones given by theerror committed on the fifth plate at the beginning of the day by Rossi. Our local shooters remain however in full swing to reach the final act.
Water polo
The Settebello beat Croatia 14-11 on the second day of the first phase. A heavy result for Campagna’s boys (4-3, 2-3, 3-6, 2-2) with an unleashed Francesco Di Fulvio, author of a poker; a brace from Fondelli, Bruni and Echenique, one goal each for Condemi, Renzuto, Presciutti and Iocchi Gratta. A victory to virtually feel like you’re already in the quarterfinals. Italy had already beaten the USA 12-8. Thursday at 16:35 there’s Italy-Montenegro.
Boxing
Irma Testa has exited the Paris2024 women’s boxing tournament in the 57kg category. The 26-year-old Italian, from Campania, surrendered in the round of 32 against Chinese Zichun Xu. The judges’ verdict was contested, with the Asian’s match won by a score of 3-2.