FLORENCE – Homage to a champion who died on the field. A gold medal for athletic valor was awarded by the National Olympic Committee in memory of the centaur Fabrizio Meoni, who died on 11 January 2005 during the Paris-Dakar.
Intended for Italian athletes who have achieved records or excellent results in the Olympic or international arena, this prestigious sporting merit was awarded this morning to Meoni’s family, during a ceremony held at the Acqua Cetosa ‘Giulio Onesti’ preparation center , in the presence of the president of the Italian Motorcycling Federation Giovanni Copioli, the president of CONI, Giovanni Malagó and the minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi.
With this gold medal full of meaning, CONI, as explained in a note, therefore wanted to solemnly reward “for exceptional merits” the pilot from Castiglione, twice winner of the Dakar, who passed away prematurely in 2005. Great emotion in the Meoni family for this recognition to a champion who made headlines for his exploits, but also for what he was able to convey as a man and as a sportsman.
The Minister for Sport Andrea Abodi, the president of Coni Giovanni Malagò, the president of the IMF and member of the council, Giovanni Copioli, presented the gold medal and the celebratory parchment to Fabrizio’s wife, Elena, and to his son Gioele. Both recalled, moved, the importance of the value of solidarity for the winning pilot of the 2001 and 2002 Dakar. Also present were the vice presidents of Coni, Silvia Salis and Claudia Giordani, the general secretary of Coni Carlo Mornati and the mayor of Castiglion Florentine Mario Agnelli.
The recognition that celebrated the memory of Fabrizio Meoni, promoted by the IMF, it is further explained, was also awarded through the intercession of the minister Andrea Abodi who had visited Castiglion Fiorentino last January and had the opportunity to learn even better about the pilot’s exploits. A commemorative video of Meoni was also shown. In his speech Abodi highlighted how the awarding of the gold medal for athletic prowess enhances the values of family and altruism in which Fabrizio Meoni fully recognized himself.
Malagò underlined how the moral and sporting caliber found a perfect synthesis in the figure of Meoni. His son, Gioele, and his wife Elena highlighted the spirit of solidarity and love that Fabrizio felt towards Africa and which was expressed in charitable initiatives. “Fabrizio Meoni was and is a point of reference for all of us in sport as in life,” said Copioli. “He contributed to doing good in a land, Africa, that he particularly loved and I am sincerely proud that Gioele carries on the same spirit as his father with the projects of his foundation. I thank him on behalf of the entire IMF because with these activities the values of Fabrizio, sport and life are perpetuated and shared.”
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