Londra 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.