The Sunday of great disappointments, relieved only by the usual fencing. In the last race on the platforms of the Excel Center, Italy ends as it had begun: after the historic hat-trick on Saturday 28 August in the individual women's foil test, it was up to the men to redeem the opaque performance in the singles competition and lead to the expedition the sixth gold medal was blue, fourteenth overall.
Andrea Baldini, Valerio Aspromonte, Andrea Cassarà and Giorgio Avola won in the final against the surprising Japanese 45-39 and thus brought the curtain down on the fencing tournament with a more than flattering balance: 3 golds, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes. Total 7 medals, or exactly half of all those obtained so far by the blue patrol.
Yet even more could have arrived on a rainy London afternoon, if for example Elia Viviani, in the Omnium specialty track cycling had confirmed the ex aequo first place at the end of the first five races, only to finish ninth in the last and only sixth in the final classification of the race won by the Dane Hansen. Or if Alberto Busnari, in artistic gymnastics (horse specialty) had perhaps not been penalized a little by the "household" judges in rewarding the local idol Max Whitlock, relegating our athlete to fourth place by only two tenths. Or even if the girls of the Beach volleyball, sensational so far, had not abdicated in front of the American couple, losing the opportunity of a historic semifinal, almost synonymous with a medal.
But above all those who hurt the most are the 20 cents of a point that once again deprived Tania Cagnotto of an Olympic medal in diving, from the three-meter springboard. Granted that gold and silver went to the two Chinese, while instead the third place of the Mexican Sanchez against the blue, obtained to say the least by the skin of the cuff, really leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The delightful Tania let herself go in tears in front of the cameras, consoled as always by her father coach Giorgio. And so, as in the synchro match with Francesca Dellapè, another wooden medal arrives for her and for the blue diving.
Not to mention the defeats of Setterosa (eliminated) and women's volleyball against Russia, which however should not compromise qualification for the quarter-finals. The only happy notes of the day come from target shooting (50m pistol) with the surprising fifth place of Giuseppe Giordano, from sailing with the victory in the regatta and fourth place in the general classification of the 470 class of Giovanna Conti and Giulia Micol, now in the running for what could be the only Italian sailing medal, and from the brilliant qualifying rounds of Massimo Fabbrizi in clay pigeon shooting, Olympic pit, in second provisional place with 74 targets hit out of 75. The final is scheduled for Monday.
