Parigi 2024, le Olimpiadi della rivoluzione francese

Paris 2024

Skeet mixed: gold for Bacosi-Rossetti. Artistic gymnastics: gold for Alice D'Amato, bronze for Manila Esposito. Battocletti fourth

Italian men's volleyball reached the semifinals by overcoming a fierce Japan at the tie break, after being down two sets to nil

5 August 2024Aggiornato il 6 agosto 2024 alle ore 7.20

Il team azzurro oro nello Skeet mixed: a sinistra Gabriele Rossetti, a destra Diana Bacosi. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky

3' min read

Key points

Battocletti possible third in the 5,000
Gold to the Bacosi-Rossetti pair in the Skeet mixed
Men's volleyball in semifinals: beat Japan
Desalu and Tortu in the semifinals of the 200 metres

3' min read

A new gold medal for Italy at the Paris 2024 Olympics comes from artistic gymnastics. Alice D'Amato won it on beam with a score of 14.366, ahead of China's Yaqin Zhou (14.100) and the other Italian Manila Esposito (14.000). Fall and fifth place for the eve's big favourite, the American Simone Biles (13.100).

After their silver medal in the team event, a legendary double podium on beam materialised at the Bercy Arena, with the two Italians taking the gold and bronze medals respectively.

D'Amato, seventh in the qualifying round (13.866), performed a sublime exercise, at the end of which she scored an extraordinary 14.366 (D:5.800-E:8.566). Nothing to do for Chinese Yaqin Zhou, who stopped at 14.100 (D:6.600-E:7.500) and had to settle for silver. Also hoisting herself among the top three was a splendid Esposito who, after her sixth score in the preliminary round (13.966), was rewarded by the judges with 14.000 (D:5.800-E:8.200).

Ginnastica artistica: la medaglia d’oro alla trave Alice D'Amato (a sinistra) insieme all’altra azzurra Manila Esposito, medaglia di bronzo. REUTERS/Mike Blake

For our country, this is a historic day. Never, in fact, has there been a podium finish on this apparatus since the Games. In the women's event, moreover, the only one to succeed in the feat of making it to the podium at individual level had been Vanessa Ferrari, who won silver in the floor exercise three years ago in Tokyo. The Italian team, therefore, in one fell swoop earned the 23rd and 24th medals of this Parisian edition.

"Super excited and proud for them," said the American champion, Simone Biles, speaking of Italy's Alice D'Amato and Manila Esposito. "They did a fantastic exercise and will be an example for the young Italian gymnasts," concluded the American athlete, who finished in fifth place.

Battocletti briefly third in the 5,000

In the evening, a final with yellow (not gold) for the 5,000 metres in athletics. Nadia Battocletti could have been a bronze medallist in the 5,000 metres at Paris 2024: the Italian finished the race in fourth place, but the judges disqualified the second-placed Kenyan, Kipyegon, for unfairness towards an Ethiopian athlete, but then accepted the Kenyan federation's appeal. "We have to wait for appeals and counter-appeals, for now I am thinking of fourth place. However, I am very happy and for how the race was, for how I behaved'. This is how Italy's Nadia Battocletti commented on her result in the five-thousand metre final at the Paris Olympics to RAI microphones, a fourth place with an Italian record only for a moment becoming bronze due to the disqualification, later withdrawn, of Kenya's Kipyegon. "I am happy because I put the injury aside and my legs started to turn. Now I am well and I also aim to participate in the 10,000,' she added.

Gold to the Bacosi-Rossetti pair in the Skeet mixed

The Italian pair of Diana Bacosi and Gabriele Rossetti won gold in the Skeet Mixed Team final at Paris 2024, beating the Americans Smith and Hancock. The last series in which Bacosi broke all four skeet plates was decisive. Bacosi, gold medallist at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games and silver medallist in skeet at Tokyo 2020, and Gabriele Rossetti, also gold medallist in Rio, beat the USA with a score of 45-44. With only one missed skeet in the first three series, the Azzurri reached the last series with a two-skeet lead, 38-36. Another mistake by Hancock, while Smith made a clear run, allowed the Italian duo to play the last act still ahead. Rossetti missed a clay pigeon but Bacosi did not fail with a 5 out of 5 that was worth the gold medal.

Olimpiadi di Parigi: le medaglie italiane
Photogallery46 foto

Men's volleyball in semifinals: beaten Japan

Italy men's volleyball meanwhile reached the semifinals, overcoming a fierce Japan in the quarters that had come to be ahead of the Azzurri 2 sets to nil. The recovery of the Italian volleyball players was great, as they managed to recover the two sets' disadvantage and beat the Japanese in the final tie break.

Desalu and Tortu in the semifinals of the 200 metres

Fausto Desalu and Filippo Tortu (reigning Olympic champions with the 4 x100) qualified for the semi-finals of the 200 metres. Desalu finished his heat in second place with a time of 20.26. Shortly afterwards Tortu finished third in his heat in 20.29.