ROME (ITALPRESS) – Her glance and then her scream after settling the winning hit in the final with France are already one of the emblems of winning Italian sport. Catania’s Alberta Santuccio, an Italian epee fencer and gold medalist at the last Paris Olympics, the one who stopped the Grand Palais cheering at once, all of course on the side of the transalpine women, will again recount her emotions during the Sports Gala that will be staged at the Grand Hotel Villa Itria in Viagrande, Monday, Dec. 9, starting at 8 p.m.Santuccio is another diamond, one of the brightest, who will participate in the evening where the sporting feats of 2024 will be celebrated. At the youth level she was a world and European champion as well as the flag bearer of the first edition of the Youth Olympic Games, those of Singapore 2010, where she won an individual silver and a team gold. After practicing dance and swimming, she took up fencing at the age of 7, following in her older brother’s footsteps. If she initially divided her time between epee and foil, the former was from the start the weapon that gave her the most excitement, and it was not difficult for her to choose which of the two to continue with. In 2024 she also won the European team title, and in 2023, with her teammates, she took second place at the World Championships in Milan. At the individual level, she finished third at the European Championships and second at the World Championships.Alberta Santuccio will be among the honorees on the evening in Viagrande, along with rowing champion Valentina Rodini, athlete Matteo Melluzzo, Giada Rossi and Matteo Parenzan gold medalists in Paris in Paralympic tennis, water polo’s Ekipe Orizzonte, five-a-side soccer’s Meta Catania, DomusBettv Catania Beach Soccer and to the Masterball Academy girls in beach volleyball. “I am very pleased with the approach that has been given to the award again this year,” says Fabio Pagliara, chairman of the committee. An award that not only highlights the excellence of local sports but has now taken on an important national prominence. A way to show how much can be done in Sicily, but also how much passion, how much sociality the sports sector engenders. Once again, a thank you to patron Pippo Leone and all his staff but also good luck for this edition and the wish that this is a stage on a path that will still lead to other goals.””Looking forward to celebrating its 20th anniversary next year,” says Enzo Parrinello, honorary chairman of the committee, “also for the 19th edition, the Gala of Sport gathers names of great importance in the national sports scene and, among other things, will also count on the presence among the guests of sports personalities who will increasingly embellish Pippo Leone’s initiative. I think that the 2024 edition will also be interesting and intriguing for all those who love sports and for those who devote their resources and energies every day to the values that sports disciplines represent. “The 2024 Silver Chestnut ceremony will also experience, as explained by the honorary chairman of the committee, the presence of distinguished guests such as Coni deputy vice president Silvia Salis, the president of the Rowing Federation Davide Tizzano and the director of Rai Sport Iacopo Volpi.The Sports Gala will be presented by Ruggero Sardo with Martina Leone. It is organized in collaboration with the Presidency of the Sicilian Regional Assembly, the Regional Department of Tourism Sport and Entertainment, the Municipality of Viagrande, the regional Coni, Ansmes (National Association of Stars and Palms of Sporting Merit, awarded in concert with Coni) and Sport City Foundation. The event is made possible thanks to the important presence of the partners Siciliana Recapiti, Sail Post Etnea Recapiti, Siner, Copitel, Videobank, Ias Service, Edis Group, Ellevu, Matec Group, New Vecagel, Bms, Mga Impianti, Tecnocomp, Cosminos, Agenzia Generali, Mallamo Medical Service, Imbaltec, Angiolucci occhiali. – Photo Italian Fencing Federation – (ITALPRESS).
