Great news arrives for Italian beach volleyball. Paolo Nicolai and Samuele Cottafava, in fact, have obtained the pass for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The couple (they are fifth in the ranking with the Five Circles) reached the finish line thanks to an excellent continuity of results in the qualifying period which started on July 1st 2022 (and will end on June 10th).
For Paolo Nicolaiwho has already won the silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games together with Daniele Lupo, would be the fourth Olympics of his career, while as regards Samuele Cottafava it would be the debut under the Five Circles. We have two other couples who, at the moment, would be qualified for Paris 2024: Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Carambula (11th in the Olympic ranking) therefore Marta Menegatti and Valentina Gottardi they are eighth in the women’s sector.
Paolo Nicolai’s statements on the CONI official website: “I feel great pride in what we have managed to achieve. Qualifying for the Olympic Games is a huge goal and achieving it for the fourth time in a row fills me with joy. Even happier to have succeeded with a completely new group. The daily work done over the years by all the people who are part of the team has been fantastic. All this also gives us the strength to believe that it doesn’t end here. We are not satisfied with qualification. We can do well and have our say. We know that something important can be done. The focus on daily work will always be high. We are very happy but remain humble for what awaits us from today onwards.”
The words of Samuele Cottafava: “Having managed to qualify for the Olympics is a very strong emotion, a dream come true. We have achieved this goal thanks to the great work done in recent years; we competed at a very high level and managed to remain in the top 10 in the world, results that helped us obtain the points necessary for qualification. It is a feeling that I am experiencing peacefully, but my maximum concentration is on the next events that await us before the Games, but I am sure that the emotions will become increasingly stronger as the event gets closer. Participating in Paris alongside Paolo, who among other things has already played three five-ring events, I believe can be of great help, especially in managing the tournament from an emotional point of view. We will certainly give our best and try to compete like the other couples to obtain the best possible result.”
