The great Italian summer of sport ended as best it could not: after the success at the European Championship, the historic final of Matteo Berrettini, the record-breaking expedition at the August Olympics and the European Volleyball Championships, Also Tokyo 2020 Paralympics they have given us joys and emotions. The Italian athletes broke the record set in the historic Seoul 1988 edition when 58 medals had been won. This time there are 69 podiums obtained which, added to the 40 in the Olympics a month ago, make them exceed 100. This is a figure never reached before by sport in our country.
After choosing the fencer Bebe Vio and of the swimmer Federico Morlacchi as standard-bearer at the opening ceremony, for the closing ceremony the president of the Paralympic Committee Luca Pancalli wanted to award the 2003 class Matteo Parenzan, promising tennis player and youngest athlete of the entire Italian expedition.
The medal table of the Paralympics and the Italian golds
As has now been the case since the Athens 2004 edition, the Chinese athletes once again took the lead in the medal table and the twelve days of competitions. ). Behind the Chinese army is there Britain with 41 golds, 38 silvers and 45 bronzes preceding the United States with 37 golds, 36 silvers and 31 bronzes.
As mentioned earlier, too the Italian expedition it was absolutely positive: 69 medals arrived. An absolute record. In the medal collection 14 golds, 29 silvers and 26 bronzes.
The icing on the cake then came on Friday in the women's 100m final. Monica Graziana Contrafatto, Martina Caironi and Ambra Sabatini they achieved a historic result, all three climbing on the podium which became totally tricolor. The most precious medal went to Sabatini, who doubled her achievement by rewriting the world record for the specialty.
Swimming and fencing protagonists
However, a special mention goes to another discipline: swimming. From the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics pool, even 39 medals arrived (as many as had been achieved in Rio in all sports), 11 of which were gold. Among these, three athletes have won two different races. Francis Bocciardo triumphed in the 100 and 200 meters freestyle in its category. Arjola Trimi did it in the 50 backstroke and the 100 freestyle. Carlotta Gilli took home the 100 butterfly and then repeated with the 200 medley.
The other golds from swimming they came from the women's 4 × 100 freestyle relay. Simone Barlaam won the race in the 50 freestyle, Giulia Terzi and Antonio Fantin in their respective 100 freestyle. Finally, gold medal also to Stefano Raimondi in the 100 breaststroke.
Not just swimming and athletics. Another victory came from fencing, where the champion and flag bearer Bebe Vio has been confirmed after the Rio Olympics triumphing in foil. The other success was brought by the men's handbike relay formed by Mazzone, Cecchetto and Colombari. They were the absolute protagonists on the H1-5 mixed road test.
