Gold medal for athletic prowess to the Moro di Venezia crew

Rome, 18 April. (askanews) – The crew of Il Moro di Venezia was awarded the Gold Medal for athletic value, so CONI wanted to recognize and celebrate the history of Italian sailing. The official ceremony took place on Wednesday 17 April, in the presence of the Minister of Sport and Youth Andrea Abodi, in the Acquacetosa Olympic Preparation Center in Rome, as part of a meeting of the CONI national council, chaired by Giovanni Malagò. President Malagò began the ceremony by calling Minister Abodi to his side, the president of the Italian Sailing Federation Francesco Ettorre and the Olympic champion Alessandra Sensini. Malagò then invited all the members of the Moro di Venezia crew to the stage, to whom Carlo Mornati, general secretary of the CONI, presented the gold medal for athletic valor. Malagò greeted Ivan Gardini, thanking him for his presence and , after having personally complimented all the “boys” of the Moro, he left the floor to Minister Abodi: “In 1992 – declared the minister – for professional reasons I had a close relationship with the experience of the Moro of Venice and with those who promoted it; therefore, my thoughts certainly go to Raul Gardini. I experienced the emotions of that period firsthand and this is the spirit of my presence here today. It was a wonderful experience that made you fall in love among Italians, has made sailing much more known and has changed the level of attention, including that of institutions, towards this sector which is sporting but also industrial, creates added value, generates wealth, offers work and is an element of excellence at an international level.

“President Fiv Ettorre in his speech thanked Minister Abodi, President Malagò and the entire Coni council for this recognition to the world of sailing and the history of the Moor of Venice which inspired the general public by underlining “the importance of the fact that many of the winners still continue to teach sailing to our young people today. I believe this is the most important message.”In 2024 the most important sailing events in the world will be celebrated: the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the XXXVII edition of the America’s Cup in Barcelona. There could not have been a better year to bestow this recognition on the team of Il Moro of Venice, promoter of a trend which, in the following years, generated other Italian challenges to the America’s Cup by Italian entrepreneurs and shipowners. On 30 April 1992 in San Diego (USA), the crew of Il Moro of Venice defeated Team New Zealand in the final regattas of the Louis Vuitton Cup (5-3 final result), thus winning the Louis Vuitton Cup and becoming the official Challenger at the XXVIII edition of the America’s Cup. Il Moro di Venezia was the first boat from a non-English speaking country to be able to challenge the holder of the Trophy in 141 years of history. Wanted by Raul Gardini to participate in the XXVIII America’s Cup, Il Moro di Venezia, standard bearer of the Compagnia della Vela, thanks to its sporting success, has exponentially increased the interest and enthusiasm for the sport of sailing in Italy, helping to inspire a new generation of sailors and enthusiasts. Even today, over three decades after his epic, Il Moro di Venezia continues to be celebrated as an icon of the sailing movement. In his speech on the sidelines of the award ceremony Ivan Gardini, guest of honor representing the family, addressing the crew he underlined that: “The Moro di Venezia has remained in the country’s memory certainly because it represented an innovative, technological and sporting challenge, but above all for the human aspect that you guys conveyed at the time and the empathy generated with the fans. Everything this is still recognized today after more than 30 years. My father would certainly have been happy about this and honored to share this important recognition with his crew.” Davide Tizzano, two Olympic gold medalists in rowing and grinder on board the Moro di Venezia spoke in representation of the entire crew: “Together with my two Olympic successes, participation in the Il Moro di Venezia challenge represents one of the most beautiful pages of my human and sporting memories. I had the honor of meeting a great man and shipowner, Raul Gardini and I had the privilege of having raced with a group of athletes and sailors of the highest level. This for me is the most important value. The Moro di Venezia represented innovation, it represented and will forever remain a fundamental stage in the history of Italian sailing”. The crew of the Moro di Venezia: Gabriele Bassetti Graziano Bellomo, Lars Borgstrom, Paolo Bottari, Daniele Bresciano, Carlo Castellano , Paul Cayard, Tommaso Chieffi, Enrico Chieffi, Duilio Coletti, Marco Cornacchia, Luca Dignani, Alberto Fantini, Massimo Galli, Gianluca Lamaro, Vittorio Landolfi, Andrea Madaffari, Roberto Martinez, Sergio Mauro, Lorenzo Mazza, Andrea Merani, Andrea Mura, Tiziano Nava, Alessio Pratesi, Massimo Procopio, Francesco Rapetti, Marco Schiavuta, Sandro Spaziani, Davide Tizzano, Ulisse Vicinanza, Guido Antar Vigna.