VOTE, BORSINO AND BEST OF THE WEEK IN ITALY
Vote of the week for Italy: 7,5
Stock market of the week (who goes up and who goes down)
↓ M. Berta (mountain bike) ↑ S. Avondetto (mountain bike)
↓ A. Bagioli (cycling) ↑ 4 without men (rowing)
Athlete of the Week (Male). Federico Nilo Maldini (shooting): by winning the final Olympic qualifying tournament in Rio de Janeiro, the twenty-three year old from Bologna won (after Monna) the pass to Paris 2024 in the 10 meter air pistol. With a crazy match, in which he made us suffer by entering the final with the seventh score (581), Maldini was able to hold his nerve in the final act by imposing himself with 236.8. Scores quite low compared to the standards of the discipline, but perfectly understandable given the stakes. His emotion is likely: Federico just needs to believe in himself a little more, and nothing will be denied to him given his young age.
Athlete of the Week (Female). Letizia Paternoster (track cycling): Letizia is back. We haven’t seen her in such good shape in a long time. The two places of honor (elimination and omnium) in the Nations Cup in Milton (Canada) make us dream from a Five Circles perspective. Above all, the contribution of the native of Cles will be fundamental for the team pursuit (a race that she did not compete in Canada to allow the Villa coach to do some experiments). If all our athletes are in top form in the summer, from my point of view we could even surpass the British in that specialty. Go on like this!
ITALY’S MEDAL HOPES AT THE PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES
Dear readers, the overview of disciplines that will represent us continues Paris 2024. Today we will look at athletics, track cycling, modern pentathlon, judo and badminton.
ATHLETICS
We can say it bluntly: this national team is the strongest and most compact in our entire history. I would also say compared to Tokyo 2021. Obviously, what happened in Japan was something (perhaps) unrepeatable with the 5 gold medals, but qualitatively we are superior in all specialties compared to the last four years. The best proof of this was the victory of the European Team Championship (formerly the European Cup) last season (historic first time). Jumps, throws, speed, obstacles, middle distance, race walking: the queen of Olympic sports will entertain us and the Azzurri will be ready. In no particular order, here are my candidates for the Five Circles podium: Marcell Jacobs, Massimo Stano, Antonella Palmisano, men’s 4×100 metres, mixed pairs walking relay, Gianmarco Tamberi, Andy Diaz, Leonardo Fabbri, Mattia Furlani, Larissa Iapichino, Lorenzo Simonelli. As luxury outsiders: women’s 4×100, Pietro Arese, Catalin Tecuceanu, Ayomide Folorunso and Nadia Battocletti.
Vote for the Italian Athletics Federation in the three-year Olympic period: 9
Chance of podium in Paris 2024: 5-8
CYCLING YOUR TRACK
The endurance sector will be our spearhead, even if Miriam Vece’s historic passes and the progress of men’s speed give us hope for Los Angeles 2028, to finally be competitive in the entire Olympic program on the pole. Having said this, from my point of view we will be able to collect at least two medals from the women (team pursuit and omnium): a lot will depend on the state of form of all the athletes, but the conditions are all there and Letizia Paternoster’s return to the top could be the balance tips in our favor. Among the men, repeating the success of Tokyo will be very difficult for the little train, but you can be sure that we will be there for the podium too. The situation is different for Madison and Omnium, where everything will depend on the teams that CT Villa will field.
Vote for the Italian Cycling Federation (track section) in the three-year Olympic period: 7,5
Chance of podium in Paris 2024: 3-4
MODERN PENTATHLON
The Bel Paese can already count on three individual Olympic passes, those guaranteed by Elena Micheli, gold at the World Championships in the last two editions and triumphant last June in Ankara at the World Cup Finals, and by Alice Sotero and Giorgio Malan, winners at the Games European Championships in Krakow 2023. We are only missing the second men’s pass, hoping to be able to obtain it at the World Championships in Zhengzhou (China) or perhaps with the Olympic ranking. The chances of getting on the podium will be placed more on the female side: our two champions are capable of anything (even both getting on it). The men’s race, however, will be open to any solution, with many contenders for the podium. Much will also depend on luck in “finding” the right horse in the riding test.
Vote for the Italian Modern Pentathlon Federation in the three-year Olympic period: 8
Chance of podium in Paris 2024: 1-2
The same applies to athletics: perhaps we are faced with the strongest national team of all time, which will be present in at least 10 weight categories (with the possibility of increasing the loot). We will even be able to play our cards in the mixed team competition. Assunta Scutto (-48 kg), Odette Giuffrida (-52 kg), Alice Bellandi (-78 kg), Manuel Lombardo (-73 kg) and Christian Parlati (-90 kg) will be our medal cards, but watch out for surprises . A name to bet on? I would say Asya Tavano.
Vote for FIJLKAM (judo section) in the three-year Olympic period: 8,5
Chance of podium in Paris 2024: 3-5
BADMINTON
The European Championships in Saarbrücken (Germany) have just ended: at the moment only Giovanni Toti is 98% certain of obtaining the pass for France (through the Olympic ranking). At this point, the chances for Fabio Caponio and Gianna Stiglich to make it are very slim. Unfortunately, the “youth project” (youth nurseries located throughout the area) started a few years ago by the Federation and the PalaBadminton in Milan have not yet yielded the desired results in this three-year period, hoping to harvest them in view of Los Angeles 2028. In this sport, dominated by Asian and Scandinavian countries, we still have to do much more to aspire to the global elite.
Vote for the Italian Badminton Federation in the three-year Olympic period: 5,5
Chance of podium in Paris 2024: 0
Maurizio Contino
PREVIOUS EPISODES OF ‘MAURIZIO TELLS…’
2024-04-16 15:47:45
#Italys #medal #hopes #Paris #Athletics #track #cycling #modern #pentathlon #judo #badminton
