There were just all the blue medalists at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics today at the Quirinale, received by the Head of State. The ceremony was attended by Sergio Mattarella, the athletes, the president of Coni and that of the Paralympic Committee.
There are 109 laurels obtained in total: 40 at the Olympics, 69 at the Paralympics.
Tokyo 2020 will remain in history: for the number of medals ever so high, for the invoice of the same, five Olympic golds in athletics, including 100 meters and 4X100.
During the ceremony, the flag bearers Elia Viviani and Jessica Rossi returned, enriched by the signatures of all the medalists, the tricolor that Mattarella had given to the delegates and which was waved in Tokyo every time a blue rose on the podium.
Mattarella wanted to remember almost all the protagonists by calling them by name: "109 medals, never so many, you have honored the Italian flag", he said. "Thank you, for the emotions and for what you accomplished. You represented our country, you involved it , you were a good reason to be proud. The best compliment I can give you is that you have been a team, you have transmitted strong feelings, the values of friendship, of the group. Thank you, thank you for everything ".
Great emotion also for Filippo Tortu: "It was really very exciting, a moment that I will not forget. This time we handed over the baton to President Mattarella and it was special, it caused me emotions similar to those of Tokyo".
"Every medal is important - added Tortu - perhaps ours was an added value due to the fact that it was unexpected. I know that in this period the courses have had a boom in enrollments and knowing that I have helped my sport is fantastic".
After the ceremony at the Quirinale, the Italian medalists went to Palazzo Chigi to receive a greeting from Prime Minister Mario Draghi who complimented them, underlining how the results "exceeded our wildest expectations".
(Unioneonline / L)
