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Italian team officially named for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

6 July 2021

Cantalupa, Italy

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Lucilla Boari and Mauro Nespoli celebrate mixed team gold at the European Games in 2019.

Mauro Nespoli, Tatiana Andreoli, Lucilla Boari and Chiara Rebagliati will represent Italy in the archery competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

None of the names is a surprise, with Nespoli the recurve men’s world number five and the women’s line-up unchanged from that which won the team quota place for the Games at the final qualifier in Paris late last month.

This is Mauro’s fourth consecutive Olympics but his first without a team behind him. Italy has had full, six-athlete squads at each of the last three editions of the Games.

“For the first time I’ll be alone, without a men’s team, and I’ll be the oldest of the group. It will be a new experience for me,” he said. “I’ve worked hard. I will try to do my best in the individual matches. There are a lot of top players, but I’ll try to remain ahead.”

Three of the members of Italy’s squad crested the podium at the last European Games. Nespoli and Andreoli won the individual titles, while the former partnered with Boari to take mixed team gold. The pairs event will make its Olympic debut later this month in Tokyo.

“I think we could have a nice result,” added Mauro. “We won bronze at the worlds in 2019, gold in the European Games, so I think we’ll be competitive in Tokyo.”

The Italian recurve women won the very last of the 12 available team tickets to Tokyo. They beat Spain in the bronze medal match of the final qualifier.

Boari shot at Rio 2016 but Andreoli and Rebagliati are making their Olympic debuts in Tokyo.

The Italian coaching staff is also flush with experience, with its three Olympian members having accrued a combined 11 appearances and four medals at the Games.

Led by Sante Spigarelli (1972, 1976, 1980), it will see two-time Olympic medallist Matteo Bisiani (1996, 2000) and Barcelona double-bronze-medallist Natalia Valeeva (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012) take command in the coaching boxes.

The entry deadline for Tokyo has now passed and the identity of all 128 archers shooting at the Games will be revealed over the coming days.

The archery competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games start with qualifying on 23 July 2021.