At the 20th edition of the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy leads the overall medal table with 123 total medals, including 43 golds, 43 silvers, and 37 bronzes, according to records from the event. The Italian delegation secured 13 additional podium finishes in late August, more than doubling the overall medal count of second-place Turkey.
Italy Dominates the Taranto 2026 Medal Standings
The Italian delegation continues to set the pace at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, maintaining a commanding lead across multiple disciplines. With 123 total medals secured—broken down into 43 gold, 43 silver, and 37 bronze finishes—the Azzurri account for just over 24 percent of all 511 medals awarded across the competition so far, records show.
Turkey sits second in the standings with 61 total medals, featuring 28 golds. Greece holds the third position with 39 medals, including 14 titles. Meanwhile, France and Spain are closely matched in fourth and fifth places respectively, each holding 51 total medals. France claims the higher position in the table based on a superior gold medal count, holding 13 golds to Spain’s 12.
Standout Gold Medal Performances on August 28
Competition on August 28 delivered several high-profile victories for the Italian team. In shooting sports, Danilo Dennis Sollazzo claimed the gold medal in the men’s 10-meter air rifle event. Sollazzo secured the top step of the podium after a tight contest, finishing just one point ahead of Croatia’s silver medalist Miran Maricic, while Greece’s Dimitrios Sarantakis took the bronze.
On the asphalt of the Taranto lungomare, Melissa Gatti delivered a victory in the roller marathon. Gatti executed a decisive sprint to edge out Portugal’s Francisca Gomes Henriques for the gold medal, with compatriot Sofia Saronni rounding out the podium in third place with a bronze.
The Italian men’s table tennis team also added a gold medal to the delegation’s tally. The quartet of John Michael Oyebode, Matteo Mutti, Carlo Rossi, and Andrea Puppo defeated Egypt 3-0 in the final. The women’s table tennis team added a silver medal to the nation’s total in the team event.
Success on the Tatami and Padel Courts
The combat sports arena provided another wave of success for Italy. Judoka Giulia Ghiglione captured gold in the women’s -48kg category. Valerio Accogli followed with a victory in the men’s -66kg division, and Michela Terranova secured the top spot in the women’s -57kg category.
Padel competitions contributed three podium finishes to the Italian total on August 28. Flavio Abbate and Alvaro Montiel Caruso earned silver in the men’s tournament. Marco Cassetta and Giulia Dal Pozzo added a silver medal in the mixed doubles event, while Giorgia Marchetti and Carolina Orsi claimed bronze in the women’s tournament.
Football Squad Falls to Tunisia in Semifinal
While individual and multi-athlete disciplines thrived, the men’s football tournament brought disappointment for the Italian youth team. Facing Tunisia under a 37-degree Celsius sun at Stadio Erasmo Iacovone, Italy’s Azzurrini fell 1-3 in their semifinal fixture.
Perillo opened the scoring for Italy in the 21st minute. Tunisia equalized through Derbali in the 15th minute of the second half, before goals from Anene and Dhouib sealed the comeback victory for the North African side. Italy will face Morocco in the bronze medal match on Sunday after Morocco was defeated on penalties by Algeria.
Historical Context and Chasing Bari 1997
Italy’s performance in Taranto places the delegation on a historic trajectory, though still short of its all-time high. The country’s record haul in a single edition of the Mediterranean Games remains the 1997 edition in Bari, where Italian athletes collected 193 medals, including 76 golds.
With 123 podiums secured so far, the delegation sits 70 medals away from matching that overall count. The Games run through September 3, leaving additional events on the schedule—including upcoming finals in judo, shooting, triathlon, and table tennis—for athletes to add to their tallies before the closing ceremonies.
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