The Rome 1960 Olympic champion, Nino Benvenuti, accompanied by Fiona May, Head of Athletes Relations of the Committee for the Promotion of Rome 2024 and member of the CONI Executive Board, will represent Italy at the funerals of Muhammad Ali scheduled for Friday 10 June at Louisville, Kentucky. The decision was taken by Giovanni Malagò, President of CONI, who considered it a duty that Italian sport would be present in occasion of the last salute to the unforgotten American champion, gold medal at Rome 1960, who died last Friday.

The choice of Benvenuti and May is highly symbolic both for what they have represented in their career as athletes and for the important Olympic values that they continue to transmit to entire generations of sportspeople. Nino Benvenuti and Fiona May have stated they are honored and proud of this decision by Malagò.

This picture (ANSA) shows US boxing legend Muhammad Ali as he receives a replacement gold medal for the 1960 one he lost, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 03 August 1996