The 20th Mediterranean Games in Taranto continue to showcase an impressive Italian delegation, which maintains a dominant position atop the overall medal standings. Spanning across fourteen cities in Puglia—including Taranto, Bari, Brindisi, and Lecce—the multisport event features 26 National Olympic Committees and a massive Italian entry of 497 athletes.
Italy Dominates Medal Standings in Taranto
Italy’s strong standing in the medal table is reinforced by standout performances across disciplines like swimming, bocce, and women’s freestyle wrestling. The Italian team accumulated 83 total podium finishes—including 29 gold, 29 silver, and 25 bronze medals—following a flurry of podium finishes.
Record-Breaking Swims Power the Azzurri
In the swimming pool, the Italian squad put together a dominant campaign that yielded 51 total medals in long-course events, featuring 19 gold, 22 silver, and 10 bronze finishes.
Standout victories in the pool included Sara Franceschi capturing gold in the 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2 minutes, 11.22 seconds, and Simone Spediacci winning the men’s 200-meter medley in 1:57.70 to establish a new Games record.
Additional swimming titles went to Giovanni Guatti in the 50-meter freestyle with a mark of 21.96 seconds, Alberto Razzetti in the 200-meter butterfly in 1:55.29, Paola Borrelli in the women’s 200-meter butterfly in 2:08.47, and Matteo Diodato in the 1,500-meter freestyle in 15:06.27. Both Razzetti and Spediacci set new benchmarks for the competition during their respective events.
Gold Rushes in Bocce and Wrestling
The bocce events added six medals to the Italian tally, consisting of four golds, one silver, and one bronze. Diego Rizzi claimed the petanque precision shooting title by defeating Spain’s Manel Luque Gonzalez 44–30. Laura Picchio secured gold in the individual raffa competition with a 7–4 victory over Croatia’s Ana Juginovic. Picchio partnered with Crescenzi to win the women’s doubles 9–8, while Chiapello and Rizzi took the men’s petanque doubles final 6–2. Matteo Mana added a silver in lyonnaise precision shooting after dropping an 11–9 decision to Tunisia’s Achref Zouaoui.
Women’s freestyle wrestling contributed four medals to the delegation’s total. Laura Godino earned a silver medal in the 68 kg division after a 4–2 loss to Turkey’s Nesrin Bas. Emanuela Liuzzi (50 kg), Fabiana Rinella (57 kg), and Enrica Rinaldi (76 kg) each captured bronze medals. In badminton, Giovanni Toti secured a bronze medal in the men’s singles tournament.
How the Rest of the Field Stacks Up
Behind the leading Italian delegation, Turkey holds second place in the medal table with 36 total medals, including 17 golds. Greece follows with 26 podium finishes, Spain ranks fourth with 27 medals, and France sits fifth with 21.
Competition at the Taranto Games continues with upcoming medal events across multiple venues. Finals scheduled include disciplines in tiro a volo, sport shooting, rhythmic gymnastics, badminton, and finiswimming. Italian shuttlers Fabio Caponio and Yasmine Hamza prepare to contest finals for the gold medal in their respective badminton brackets.
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