article by Nicholas Pucci
The coxless four is a rig of good tradition, for the Italian Olympic rowing. Already in 1928 in Amsterdamindeed, Cesare Rossi, Pietro Freschi, Umberto Bonadé and Paolo Gennari they brought a first medal, the bronze, as a dowry caught behind Great Britain and the United States, exploit replicated four years later in Los Angeleswhen Francesco Cossu, Giliante D’Este, Antonio Garzoni Provenzani and Antonio Ghiardello climbed the lowest step of the podium, beaten again by the English and by the Germany boat.
We have to wait for the first post-war edition, that of the London Games of 1948, to finally applaud the first blue gold medal in the coxless fourwith Giuseppe Moioli, Elio Morille, Giovanni Invernizzi and Franco Faggi to be the best in the basin of Henley-on-Thameswhile they are Tullio Baraglia, Renato Bosatta, Giancarlo Crosta and Giuseppe Galante a to wear the silver medal around his neck in Rome in 1960surpassed only by the United States.
Baraglia and Bosatta are also part of the quartet which, together with Pier Conti-Manzini and Abramo Albini, in Mexico City, in 1968, he finished in third place in the wake of East Germany and Hungary, before that for 32 years Italy no longer knew the joy of the podium, renewed only in Sydney, at the dawn of the New Millennium, when Great Britain led by the legendary Steve Redgrave beat the quartet by a whisker, 0″38 cents composed by Valter Molea, Riccardo Dei Rossi, Lorenzo Carboncini and Carlo Mornati. What if four years later, in Athens 2004Lorenzo Porzio, Dario Dentale, Luca Agamennoni and Raffaello Leonardo they are third behind the inevitable Great Britain and Canada, that’s it then we have to wait for 2016, with the Brazilian edition in Rio de Janeiro, to perpetrate the great five-circle tradition of the four without tricolor.
Al Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon it is the English rig that has the forecast in favor, capable of conquering the last four Olympic titles starting from Sydney 2000. The Azzurri in contention this time are Matteo Castaldo, Matteo Lodo, Domenico Montrone and Giuseppe Vicinowhich must revive the glories of a race that therefore gave Italy the gold medal in London 1948 and another six appearances on the podium, with two second and four third places, and of which the Azzurri are also reigning world champions for the title conquered in 2015 in the French waters of Aiguebelette-le-Lacbeating Australia and Great Britain themselves.
Alex Gregory is the only member of the British quartet to attempt to repeat the success of four years earlier in London, this time with the support of Constantine Louloudis, Mohamed Sbihi and George Nash, while Australia, second, in fact, at the 2015 world championship, defends the last two silver medals won in Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012.
In battery the three most accredited boats win their respective serieswith Australia setting the best time in the first in 5’54″84, Italy winning the second in 5’56″01 ahead of Canada and the United States, and Great Britain taking the third in 5 ’55″59.
The chronometric results suggest a certain leveling of the values, but in the semifinals if the reigning champions have no problems in qualifying with victory in 6’17″13 ahead of Canada and the Netherlands, Australia itself with a time of 6’11″82 beats South Africa and Italy, only third and admitted to the final crossing the finish line in 6’16″54.
To the decisive act the Azzurri row in the first lane, with the two central players reserved for Great Britain and Australia, who seem to have to fight for the final victory. In fact, the two guns immediately take the lead in the race, with the British in command at 500 meters and the Oceanians chasing with a delay of 0″83, while South Africa is third and Italy is struggling in fourth position with a deficit of 3″37. The positions do not change in the middle of the race, even if Australia recovers at 0″22 from Great Britain, with the South African and the Italian rig far more distant to fight for the bronze medal. But if the British coxless pulls significantly ahead of Australia so much as to have the green light towards the gold medal, Italy passes to 1,500 meters with a gap of over a second and a half from South Africa, unleashing an impressive final rush that allows them to go to overtake rivals and conquer the bronze medalbehind Great Britain and Australia from whom he recovers more than two seconds in the last five hundred metres.
And once again, when it comes to coxless fours, the dowry of medals is guaranteed. Why ever deny good habits.