Garmin Italia rewards sports champions and inaugurates new Milan headquarters

A rich parterre of athletes, fresh from medalling at the last Paris Olympics, honoured the winners of the Garmin Beat Yesterday Awards 2024 on 3 December. The ninth edition of the event, organised by the Italian branch of the American brand leader in wearable technology, chose to celebrate five protagonists who have distinguished themselves in extraordinary feats in sailing, athletics, outdoor sports, motorcycling and wellness. The evening was kicked off by Stefano Viganò, CEO of Garmin Italia, who also took the opportunity to officially inaugurate the new headquarters in Milan, a modern building at 12 Viale del Ghisallo: "Big investments have been made, but we have thought about the future. This location has all the most important certifications in terms of sustainability and employee well-being'. The final shortlist of five award-winners came out after sifting through over a thousand applications. Explains Viganò: "This edition wants to celebrate the values of sport to which we are very attached because we are a company that serves this kind of passion, the desire to achieve our goals and overcome our limits. I am convinced that initiatives like this are an inspiration for young people and for those who decide they want to get involved'. Federica Picchi, Undersecretary Sport and Youths of the Lombardy region, also spoke after the manager.

Called upon to introduce the various awards were sports journalists Guido Meda, Davide Camicioli and Andrea Berton, radio and TV presenter Nicola Savino and mountaineer and TV presenter Lino Zani. The first to take the stage, awarded by Caterina Banti and Ruggero Tita (two-time gold medallist, in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 in sailing in the Nacra 17 class), were Maria Vittoria Marchesini and Giovanna Micol, two of the seven members of the Luna Rossa women's team that won the Puig Women's America's Cup last 12 October, beating Britain's Athena Pathway.

After them it was the turn of Roberto Ragazzi, awarded by Gabriel Soares, Olympic silver medallist rower for Italy in the 2 pair light weights in Paris 2024. Ragazzi, a freelancer with a passion for exploration, spent 14 days in Iceland, 12 of them in complete whiteout, (weather conditions in which the completely snow-covered landscape hides every landmark), to see for himself the effects of climate change with the aim of raising awareness about melting glaciers and raising funds for the construction of an aqueduct in a village in Burundi.

Next, Daila Dameno (Paralympics bronze medal at Paris 2024 in the mixed doubles bow) and Mara Navarria (gold medal in epee at Paris 2024) presented the award to Francesca Gasperi, who left Imperia with her partner, on a motorbike, for Jeddah, to make their contribution to the construction of a road that will allow some 60,000 people to reach the first hospital, 80 km away, more easily. Judoka Alice Bellandi, gold medallist in Paris 2024, awarded Claudio Pelizzeni, a former bank employee who a few years ago decided to change his life and start travelling alone, achieving complete satisfaction and happiness: feelings that he now shares with the people he accompanies to explore around the world.

Closing the evening were radio presenter Linus and swimmer Nicolò Martinenghi (gold in the 100-metre breaststroke at Paris 2024) who gave the Beat Yesterday Awards to Diego Pettorossi, an Italian data analyst working in the USA with the dream of going to the Paris 2024 Olympics and competing in the 200-metre athletics. He took time off work and holidays to compete, trained in the evenings and eventually qualified, 48th out of 48, becoming the only non-professional athlete on the Italian national team in Paris 2024, where he missed the semifinals by just a few hundredths. 'Every year I tell myself that this will be the last edition, but then I see the stories of the candidates and change my mind,' Viganò closes. Most likely, therefore, the appointment again in 2025 with what will be the tenth edition of the Beat Yesterday Awards.