Italy has always accustomed us to compete at the highest levels in various sports, certainly driven by some disciplines in which, traditionally, our athletes stand out. We are also very well used to winning Olympic trophies and medals, but what happened this year is truly unbelievable!
Let's see the achievements that Italian athletes have given us, in what can certainly be defined: the most successful summer of Italian sport!
European football
Thus began the Italian summer, with theEuropean football, the most popular sport in Italy. The opening match was played by us in Rome, in a magical atmosphere full of beautiful hope. Hopes absolutely maintained, given the triumph in the tournament that we have been missing since 1968! An incredible European, with semi-final and final won on penalties, in very difficult matches where we also had to face the national team that played the final at home, England!
But despite the difficulties we all remember how it ended:
Volleyball European Champions
We did not specify in the title whether it is men's or women's volleyball ... because we won both tournaments! An incredible milestone for our federation, which on September 4th became women's volleyball champion with our Paola Enogu named best player, while on September 19th it was the men's team that beat Slovenia at the tie-break!
European softball champions
The women's softball Europeans were held in Italy, more precisely in Friuli Venezia-Giulia, with Italy entering the tournament as reigning champion. Confirmation is usually very difficult, but our national team has succeeded in the enterprise, winning 11 matches out of 11, beating the very strong Netherlands in the final.
Cycling
In cycling there were two main victories this summer in Italy. Filippo Gana he graduated time trial world champion, for the second consecutive year, confirming himself as the strongest of the moment. Sonny Colbrelli, on the other hand, he won the European Championship (yes, another one!) with a thrilling final sprint, which we advise you to watch below:
The Olympic Games
In this magical Italian summer, we were lucky enough to also attend the Tokyo Olympics… and what an Olympics! A slow start for Italy which then broke out like never before in history. 40 total medals, a record in history, enhanced even more by the victory of the 100 meters with Marcell Jacobs (first Italian in the 100m final, imagine how difficult a victory was) and shortly after also the victory of the 4 × 100 relay, 0.01s ahead of England!
The Paralympics
Our Paralympic athletes have also rested extremely proud of us. With another record of medals, 66! Dall'Oro di Bebe Vio in fencing to the many medals of swimming, where there was even an all-Italian podium with Ambra Sabatini, Martina Caironi and Monica Graziana Contrafatto.
The rebirth of tennis
A sport in which Italy has not shone for years, but which is now experiencing a real resurgence. From the Citi Open won by Jannick Sinner (first Italian in history) to the dream touched upon by Matteo Berrettini, who was the first Italian in the Wimbledon final, in which he had to surrender to a majestic Novak Djokovic.
In short, a truly incredible summer for Italian sport, which is unlikely to be repeated. Was it a coincidence or the great desire of Italy to get up after a very difficult period? You will never know, but in the meantime we are enjoying these great successes, waiting for the next engagements!
Source of the photograph in evidence: Italian national football team
