Londra 2012

Londra 2012

XXX edition of the Summer Olympics

25 July - 12 August 2012

The 30th edition of the Summer Games will forever remain a milestone in Olympic history. Because it crowned London as the first city to host the Olympics three times, in the name of an appreciable temperance and an efficient organisation. Queen Elizabeth declared the Games open on 27th July in Stratford, in a glittering Olympic Stadium, a glitz more ingenious than formal: with an engaging storyline during the opening ceremony involving 007 at Her Majesty's service, acting as a prelude to an edition that saw the participation of 205 countries and nearly 11,000 athletes. "Inspire a generation", the ambitious aim of the organisers - led by Sebastian Coe - became a slogan of success, able to feed the excitement of enthusiasts, fans and staff. No unnecessary frills, simplicity ruled. 85 nations returned home with a medal. Italy finished with 28 medals (8 golds, 9 silvers and 11 bronzes), eighth overall, improving on the performance of Beijing. Medalling in 15 sports compared to thirteen in 2008, the average age of medalists fell from 29.84 to 28.66, 31 first-time Olympians on the podium (compared to 14 in Beijing), not to mention more than 20 fourth and fifth places. The numbers of the 30th edition of the Summer Olympics bode well for the Italians, especially when comparing the results to other European countries. France increased the number of golds but total medals fell, Germany remained stationary, Russia's gold count decreased. As predicted team GB, as host nation, improved. Italy therefore passed the English test finishing ahead of a superpower such as Australia, but also in front of unexpected nations like Hungary who rolled back the years to former glory or Iran, which managed to take home 13 medals 4 of which were gold. Italian surprises came in shooting (Campriani and Jessica Rossi, two youthful golds), confirmation from fencing (proving our mastery of the foil event: an Italian one-two-three for the women, both team golds and a timeless Vezzali). Idem bowed out with a fifth place that still placed her among the legends, Cammarelle with a silver that hinted of a "home-decision", after having led throughout his entire bout with Britain's Joshua. While Bolt proved he is king of the sprints and once again won the double in the 100 metres and 200 metres (also victorious in the sprint relay), Phelps waved farewell as star of the Games. See you in Rio in 2016.

Medal table

  • gold 8

  • silver 9

  • bronze 11

Statistics

Nations

204

Athletes

10.568 (5.892 Uomini; 4.675 Donne)

ITALIAN Athletes

281 (159 Men; 122 Women)

GOLD
Canoa K1 slalom
GOLD
Scherma Fioretto individuale
GOLD
Taekwondo Categoria +80kg
GOLD
Tiro a Segno Carabina 3 posizioni
GOLD
Tiro a Volo fossa olimpica
SILVER
Canottaggio due di coppia
SILVER
Pugilato Categoria +91kg
SILVER
Pugilato Categoria 91 kg
SILVER
Scherma Fioretto individuale
SILVER
Scherma Sciabola individuale
SILVER
Tiro a Segno Carabina 10 metri
SILVER
Tiro a Segno Pistola a.c. 10 m
SILVER
Tiro a Volo fossa olimpica
BRONZE
Atletica Salto Triplo
BRONZE
Ciclismo mountain bike
BRONZE
Ginnastica anelli
BRONZE
Judo cat. 52 kg
BRONZE
Nuoto di Fondo 10 Km
BRONZE
Pugilato Categoria 64 kg
BRONZE
Scherma Fioretto individuale
BRONZE
Taekwondo Categoria -80kg