A Rocchellese at the next Paris Olympics. In fact, it will be the 27 year old Andrea Pugresident with his family in Piedmont, in Castiglione Torinese, but originally from Rock of Ionian Seato represent Italy, as a judoka in the -60 kg category, at the next Olympics which this year will be held in France.
The young man from Reggio, Andrea, is the son of Piero Carlino, a municipal employee in Piedmont, who moved from Roccella to the hinterland of the Piedmont capital many years ago. Most of the family members (especially his uncles) and relatives of the young Italian athlete live in the coastal town of Locride. He trained in the prestigious “Akiyama” club in Settimo Torinese, famous for having launched judoka Fabio Basile, gold medalist in Rio in 2016 in the 66 kg category. Andrea Carlino obtained Olympic qualification thanks to the “allocated quota”.
The spot was opened up following the refusal of the Russian judo team to participate with all twelve qualified athletes at the Games, due to the events related to the invasion of Ukraine. Among the excluded with the highest score, Carlino, therefore, was able to benefit from this opportunity thanks also to his placings in the Olympic race. Decisive, however, was the bronze medal won in the last Grand Slam in Astana, which alone brought 500 points. This, therefore, allowed Carlino to climb the international rankings.
Thanks, therefore, to the reallocation of a quota, the twenty-seven-year-old from Reggio Emilia managed to get the pass for the Paris Games, thus allowing Italy to count on one more athlete on the tatami of the Champ-de-Mars Arena in 13 of the 14 weight categories available in the competition, for a total of 357 qualified athletes overall. A great satisfaction also for Carlino, at his first participation in the Games of his career. A real dream.
