Paris 2024: Largest Italian Paralympic delegation hopeful for medals

With 135 athletes competing at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Italy bring their largest delegation to date, hoping to match, or even surpass, their historic success at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. 

As the first hosts of the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, Italy has been represented at every Games since, with strong athletes in many sports.  

Aiming to match Tokyo medal haul 

“The goal for Paris 2024 is to maintain a high level of competitiveness, hoping to reach the extraordinary result of Tokyo, where the Italian team achieved the best result of the modern era,” said Italy Chef de Mission Juri Stara. 

Tokyo 2020 was Italy’s most successful Paralympics Games to date with 69 medals including 14 golds. This feat was largely attributed to a strong showing in Para swimming. 

Arjola Trimi, Carlotta Gilli, Francesco Bocciardo, and Giulia Terzi won multiple gold medals in the pool, while Stefano Raimondi took home the most medals of any colour, with seven podium finishes in the pool. Raimondi’s medal haul was only matched by one other athlete: swimmer Maksym Krypak of Ukraine. In recognition of his performance Raimondi received the 2021 Cangrande d'Oro award from the municipality of Verona in Italy.

 
In addition to the success in the pool, Italy achieved many other historic results in Tokyo, including its first ever equestrian medals, two bronze medals courtesy of Sara Morganti, and its first ever canoe sprint medal thanks to Federico Mancarella's bronze in the men's KL2 200m.

The European nation also won its first shooting medal since 1996 through Andrea Liverani's bronze in the open 10m air rifle standing R4 event, and first judo medal since 1992 via Carolina Costa's bronze in the women's +70kg division. 

Family affair in the pool 

After his success in Tokyo, Raimondi will be one to watch in Paris. He's competing in six events in the pool and hoping to make another strong impact to Italy's medal total.

Regardless of medals, the Para swimming will be a special event for Raimondi, as it is also a family event with his spouse, Giulia Terzi competing in 100 and 400m freestyle S7 and 50m butterfly S7. Terzi will be looking to follow her own success at Tokyo, where she took home golds in 100m freestyle S7 and 4x100m freestyle relay. 

Terzi gained a bronze medal at the S7 100m freestyle at the 2024 European Open Championships in Madeira only two months after giving birth to their son.  

Flag bearers going for gold 

At the Opening Ceremony Italy’s flag will be carried by veteran Luca Mazzone, aged 53, and rising star Ambra Sabatini, aged 22, who are both hoping to add to their collection of gold medals at Paris. 

Sabatini set the world record in 100m T63 at the World Championships in Paris last year. Having taken gold at Tokyo 2020 she is hoping to match this result. 

Meanwhile Mazzone, veteran of five Paralympic Games in both Para swimming and Para cycling, can boast three golds and three silvers with the handbike, and two silvers in Para swimming. At Paris he will be competing in Para cycling in the individual time trial H2, road race H1-2 and mixed team relay H1-5. 

“(We have) a good balance of experience and young promises, who have already competed internationally and also won titles in recent years. For them, Paris will be the first experience on the most prestigious stage in an athlete's career, but they are more than committed to leave a mark here too,” Stara said. 

Cheered on by fans at home 

Italy’s home fans will have the opportunity to follow the competitions live on the Italian public television, RAI, which will dedicate an entire channel to the Paralympic event. 

Stara hopes fans recognise the wider context to the competition, saying: 

“I really would like to invite our fans to follow the competitions of the Paralympic athletes regardless of the result they obtain. The purpose of an event like the Paralympics, in fact, goes beyond the sports context.

"As the Italian Paralympic Committee, we aim to also make sport a cultural moment, which is not only a matter of medals won, but an important tool to virtuously influence our society with the Paralympic values.  

“Our greatest ambition is that young people with disabilities get inspired by our athletes in Paris, and that they finally decide to start practicing sport. This would be the most precious medal for us all.”