THEDream Italvolley. Last night, in a thrilling semi-final, the Italian women's volleyball team won beat Turkey with a clear 3-0, conquering a place in the final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Under the expert guide by Julio Velasco, the team offered an exceptional performance, neutralizing any comeback attempt by their opponents and gaining the coveted access to the Olympic final. This is a historic achievement, as the women's national team had never managed to play in the gold medal match. While the men's team will have to settle for the bronze medal race, the Italians now dream of conquering the most precious metal.
The semi-final against Turkey, coached by the Italian Daniele Santarelli, was an impeccable match. Italy dominated from start to finish, winning all three sets with scores of 25-22, 25-19, 25-22. paola egono, the opposite of Milan, was the absolute protagonist of the evening, scoring 24 points and leading the team with an extraordinary performance.
The first set saw Italy start with some uncertainty, but the leadership of Paola Egonu and Myriam Sylla allowed the team to recover and close the partial in their favor. The second set was marked by the arrival of Ekaterina Antropova, who contributed a series of crucial points, including two aces that pushed Italy towards a 2-0 lead. In the third set, the Italians demonstrated extraordinary solidity, overcoming a deficit and closing the match with an impeccable performance from Egonu on serve.
The final challenge: Italy vs United States
And now we're aiming for gold, even if the challenge will be truly arduous. On Sunday 11 August 2024, at 13pm, at the South Paris Arena, what has been defined by the experts will take place the “challenge of challenges”.Italy will face the United States in the Olympic final.
The USA, led by the legendary Karch Kiraly, they reached the final after a hard-fought victory against Brazil, won on a tie-break. The American team is known for its strength, but the Italians come to this challenge with the knowledge that they can make history. With players of the caliber of Kathryn Plummer and Ana Christina, the Americans represent a formidable opponent. However, Julio Velasco's Italians have shown that they can compete at the highest levels and that they have all it takes to aim for gold.
Velasco: “I'm dreaming, but now we want gold”
Julio Velasco, the legendary coach who led the men's “Generation of Phenomena” in the 90s, expressed great satisfaction with the result achieved, but stressed that the work is not finished yet.
"It's an incredible final,” Velasco said. “Our initial goal was to win a medal, the first for women's volleyball at the Olympics. It would already be an extraordinary success, but since a medal is now certain, seeI prefer it to be the most precious one: gold. I'm dreaming, but we've come a long way and proven that we deserve everything we've gotten so far. Now I close my eyes until Sunday, when we will try to win the gold with our eyes wide open."
“It's all true, I don't know what to say, it seems like a dream, in fact on Sunday we will continue to dream together, it sounds better that way,” he commented Myriam Sylla, “as Velasco said, it's an Olympic final, but we have to approach it like a normal match, otherwise we feel the weight. We have to do well and I'll see you on Sunday, it's a game to play."
Where and how to watch the Italvolley final
The Olympic final between Italy and the United States will be broadcast live on Rai 2 and Rai Sport, as well as on Eurosport and Discovery+. Fans will also be able to follow the match in streaming on Now TV and RaiPlay. The appointment is for Sunday 11 August at 13am, at the South Paris Arena 1 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles.
Larissa Iapichino: the dream ends a few centimeters from the podium
If Italvolley celebrates, another Italian dream at the 2024 Paris Olympics was shattered just a few centimeters from the finish line. Larissa Iapichino, young promise of the long jump and daughter of the legendary Fiona May, closed her first Olympic participation with a bitter fourth place, yet another of the blue expedition. With a best jump of 6.87 meters, the Florentine athlete was unable to get on the podium for just nine centimetres, seeing the bronze that went to the American Jasmine Moore (6.96 meters) fade away. The American Davis-Woodhall won gold with 7.10, silver for Mihambo with 6.98.
The race was very competitive from the start. Larissa opened with a jump of 6.78 meters, which allowed her to temporarily take the lead. However, the advantage was short-lived, as the American Davis-Woodhall immediately took the lead with a leap close to seven metres. Larissa responded with an excellent 6.87 meters in the second jump, which allowed her to regain third place, but the bar was raised further when Germany's Malaika Mihambo recorded a 6.95 meters.
Despite her determination and commitment, Larissa she failed to further improve her measurement in subsequent jumps, finishing with a 6.85 meters on the last attempt. A result which, although excellent, was not enough to get on the podium, leaving her there “wooden medal”.
Larissa's words: “a lesson to learn”
Visibly disappointed, Larissa Iapichino commented on her performance to the Rai microphones with great self-criticism: “I was a fool. I repeated the qualifying measure, but it wasn't enough. I was stupid and mistakes like that are paid for at the Olympics, where no one gives you anything." Despite her bitterness, Larissa also tried to learn from the experience: “Fourth at the Olympics is good, but when you want to compete for something important you have to give something more. I have to learn what I missed to do better".
“I'm sorry but we shouldn't give up. I will continue to work both technically and mentally. In the end, these are the most important lessons. I'll try to learn it well this round” added the Italian athlete.
