Italian beach volleyball celebrates the first Italian pair to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In fact, the official announcement has arrived that the team made up of Paolo Nicolai from Ortona and Samuele Cottafava from Modena will participate in the 33rd edition of the Olympic Games scheduled from 26 July to August 11th in Paris.
The official qualification of the Italian pair came thanks to the recent results of the Challenge in Xiamen (China), an event which did not see the participation of the Italians, but of their pursuers in the ranking. The Italian beach volleyball movement has therefore achieved another important result, obtained by the athletes and staff led by Simone Di Tommaso from Pescara. For the Italian coach and for Samuele Cottafava it will be the debut at the Olympic Games, while for Paolo Nicolai it will be the fourth five-ring event after the editions of London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020. For the athlete from Ortona, the silver medal won in 2016 on Copacabana beach with his then partner Lupo was unforgettable.
«I feel great pride in what we have managed to achieve. Qualifying for the Games is a huge goal and achieving it for the fourth consecutive time is something that fills me with joy”, Nicolai’s words. «Even happier to have succeeded with a new group. We are not satisfied with qualification. We can do well and have our say. We know that something important can be done. We are very happy but we remain humble for what awaits us from today onwards.” The blue copy was first in Mexico and then in San Diego for some training courses. «We will need to plan this important commitment in the best possible way», said the Pescara coach Simone Di Tommaso. «Now we will participate in the Elite16 events of the Beach Pro Tour, at least those up to Ostrava (Czech Republic, 5-9 June). This will then be followed by management of the pre-Olympic Games tournaments during which we will work to ensure we are in the best possible condition in view of Paris.”
