One hundred podiums, eleven Olympic passes and triumph in the medals table. The Italian team bids farewell to Krakow and the third edition of the European Games with record numbers. The final tally of Italian medals is impressive: 35 golds, 26 silvers and 39 bronzes, almost double the podiums won by Spain (57), Germany (63) and France (62).

The comparison with Baku 2015 (47 podiums) and Minsk 2019 (41 podiums) says a lot about the improvement of Italia Team, represented in Poland by 164 women and 165 men. In the 11 days of competition – with over 7,000 athletes competing in 28 different disciplines – the Italian team excelled across the board, gaining the mathematical certainty of triumph in the medals table with one day still to go.

No fewer than 12 medals (7 gold, 5 silver and 2 bronze) came from the Italian athletics squad, which also won the European Team Championships at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzow. An exceptional points haul also came from shooting, with seven golds, one silver and one bronze, as well as from kickboxing, with 6 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes.

There was no room for improvement in modern pentathlon: Italy won both the men’s and women’s events with Giorgio Malan and Alice Sotero. Fencing did not disappoint either. In Krakow, the focus was on the team competitions, which also counted towards the European Championships, with Italia team climbing onto the podium for every weapon, eventually bringing home two golds, two silvers and as many bronzes. (photo Ferraro-Pagliaricci CONI)

“Simply fantastic! Italia Team honoured its country in the best possible manner, participating in the European Games in Krakow 2023 as one of the protagonists,” said CONI President Giovanni Malagò. “Italian athletes dominated the medals table in terms of the number of golds and the number of medals. Tonight we close a historic, record-breaking Games, in which Italian sport has once again demonstrated its strength in all disciplines.”

“My thanks,” he added, “go to the athletes, the technical staff and all the officials who have made it possible to write this wonderful, unique and indelible chapter of history. In addition to the 100 medals won, including 35 gold, 26 silver and 39 bronze, there were 11 Olympic quota passes won for the 2024 Games. The road to Paris is marked out and Italy is getting closer to its goal, well-aware of its potential, with the aim of bringing even greater joy to its supporters.”

Italy bids farewell to Krakow with Abbes Aziz Mouhiidine as flag-bearer at the closing ceremony in the Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium and is already looking ahead to the next goals. The most important is just over a year away: the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In Poland, Italia team secured two individual passes in the pentathlon with Alice Sotero and Giorgio Malan, four individual passes in boxing – Giordana Sorrentino and Irma Testa for the women, Salvatore Cavallaro and Mouhiidine for the men, bringing men’s boxing back to the Olympic Games after an absence in Tokyo 2020 – and five national quota passes thanks to Chiara Pellacani in diving, Chiara Rebagliati in archery, Mauro De Filippis and Jessica Rossi in trap and Martina Bartolomei in skeet.

The total number of Italian passes for Paris 2024 therefore rises to 17, but the summer has just begun and there will be many more cards up for grabs. The Italian team is ready, as it demonstrated at the European Games in Krakow.