It is the first time as a couple: the shooter Rossi and the cyclist Viviani Olympic flag bearer
the news
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Aim well and pedal hard. It could be the new motto of the blue expedition to Tokyo 2020. It is also the synthesis of the pair of blue flag-bearers, launched yesterday: Jessica Rossi and Elia Viviani. A woman and a man from Italy Team will parade in front of everyone in pairs at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, next July 23 in Tokyo.
For the first time since the introduction of the figure of the standard bearer on the occasion of the Stockholm 1912 Games, Coni approved a double designation in view of Tokyo 2020, in full compliance with the indications of the International Olympic Committee on gender equality. An absolute first also as regards the disciplines represented: skeet shooting with the Olympian Jessica Rossi, cycling with the Omnium Olympian Viviani. The president of Coni, Giovanni Malagò, made the choice official to the Giunta: “Two people who have a common denominator, two Olympic gold medals and two sports that incredibly are two disciplines that have brought almost 100 Olympic medals to the country and since 1896 they had never had a standard-bearer. ‘
“There were many women and many men who could be taken into consideration, but we wanted to focus on who had won an Olympic gold”, concluded the head of Italian sport, also citing other eligible candidates such as Diana Bacosi and Chiara Cainero, and responding to who asked him about Paola Egonu, considered by many to be among the most accredited until the eve. “I feel infinite joy, I’m happy, it’s a fantastic thing – declared the Italian Olympian – I think it’s the best, with me there will be the whole world of skeet shooting”. Viviani, on the other hand, learned the news in the middle of the Giro d’Italia: “It is a satisfaction different from any victory – he declared at the end of the 12th stage of the Giro, from the Process to the Rai-Stage – it will be an incredible thing that I will carry for the whole life”. –