Zanni ‘weighs’ a lot. Sunset foil, it was not the real Lombard – OA Sport

REPORT CARDS ITALY OLYMPICS TOKYO SUNDAY 25 JULY

National women’s basketball 3 × 3, 6: even today a victory and a defeat. Access to the quarter-finals is now one step away, but to aim for the medals it will be necessary to raise the level and try to make a couple of exploits against more accredited teams.

National women’s archery, 5.5: they beat Great Britain and then, as widely expected, hit the impassable wall of South Korea. The inadequacy is given by the negative ranking round that forced the Italians to face a prohibitive scoreboard.

Vanessa Ferrari, 9: at 30 she still has the determination of a novice girl. He even closes the free body qualifications in command. No one like her deserves this coveted medal. A true source of inspiration. (I also vote 9 for the artistic gymnastics team, which qualified for the final).

National basketball team of Italy, 8.5: beating Germany was essential to put a (decisive?) step towards qualifying for the quarter-finals. The long wave of Belgrade does not subside, the tricolor wedged ball is back for real!

Giordana Sorrentino, 7: the minimum goal was to get through a round and he hit it. Now he will have to raise the bar considerably to try to advance further in the boxing -51kg scoreboard.

Elisa Longo Borghini, 8: she is always there, never really betrays on the occasions that matter. The collection of medals is getting richer, even without that gold that would have the flavor of a total achievement.

Elena Bertocchi-Chiara Pellacani, 6: for 4/5 of the race they are in the medal zone, then the emotion betrays them and they completely miss the last dive.

Andrea Santarelli, 7: today he was gold, the feeling is that the defeat in the semifinals has turned him off and he arrived empty at the bronze finish. However, a sword tournament as an absolute protagonist.

Alice Volpi, 6.5: the fourth place symbolically represents the end of an era, because the Italian women’s foil not only no longer wins, but now also struggles to settle steadily on the podium, not only at the Olympics.

Arianna Errigo, 5: the champion who won two consecutive World Championships between 2013 and 2014 is now a memory. For too many years, Brianza has certainly been an excellent foil player, but no longer an absolute reference for the specialty.

Odette Giuffrida, 7.5: the bronze is a fair result, because the two finalists, in our opinion, in terms of absolute value are objectively superior to the Roman, however phenomenal in confirming themselves on the podium after 5 years from Rio.

Manuel Lombardo, 6: it would be a 5, but it is a sufficiency of estimate because today it was not him. It was perceived from the first meeting: the Piedmontese judoka lacked vivacity, explosiveness and competitive nastiness. It was as if the brain wanted to perform certain actions, but the physicist could not put them into practice. Today’s Manuel Lombardo fought at 30% of his potential. The one we know could have played on par with the Japanese Abe. Fortunately for him, he is only 22 and will have at least two more opportunities to try again.

Lorenzo Bacci and Marco Suppini, 5: anonymous, very far from the qualifying area in the rifle 10 meters. And to think that Niccolò Campriani retired at 29 …

Gabriele Detti, 4: the Olympics marked the turning point in the Livorno’s career. It was ‘his’ edition, without the great historical rivals and in a rather modest context. But the blue, throughout the season, has never come close to swimming in the best of times. The pandemic has affected him a lot, there is something that no longer works as before. Today’s result is not a surprise, but a great regret.

National women’s volleyball team, 7.5: convincing debut against Russia (or ROC to be formal…), not exactly the latest arrival. Egonu and her companions have only one goal in mind: to stay in Japan until Sunday 8 August.

Mirko Zanni, 9.5: Odette Giuffrida and Elisa Longo Borghini will excuse us, but among the three bronzes today it is the one that weighs the most. Italy hadn’t been on the podium in weightlifting since 1984. The Friulian faced the race with a Garibaldian attitude, always on the attack, almost boldly. Luck favors the bold, as they say. An ideal springboard also for Antonino Pizzolato, another important card in the -81 kg.

Photo: Lapresse