TARANTO (ITALPRESS) – The Federcanottaggio Federal Council, at a meeting held today in Taranto, made official the appointment of Antonio Colamonici as technical director for the four-year period 2025-2028 leading up to the Los Angeles Games. Partenopean, 53, the new dt re-embraces rowing Italy after eight seasons at the helm of Romania. Eight medals won in Tokyo 2020 (one gold and two silver) and Paris 2024 (two gold and three silver), 44 (twenty-two gold, thirteen silver, nine bronze) in eight editions of the European Championships, 12 (six gold, four silver, two bronze) in five World Championships. In light of his achievements in Paris 2024, World Rowing awarded him “Coach of the year” at its annual awards ceremony in Seville last Nov. 9.
Colamonici’s path in Italy, also marked by his participations as an Italian athlete at the 1991 Match des Seniors in Naro (fourth in the 4 without) and at the 1992 Nations Cup in Strathclyde (fourth in the eight) after rowing for CN Posillipo and CRV Italia, is characterized above all by his experiences as a company coach at Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia, with also a brief but significant parenthesis at Elpis Genova. At CRV Italia, Colamonici distinguished himself by winning numerous Italian titles and, more importantly, launching numerous talents into the Italian blue orbit. Among them is Giuseppe Vicino, a two-time bronze medalist at the Olympic Games (Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020) in the 4 without, and overall world champion in Aiguebelette 2015 in the 4 without and Sarasota 2017 in the 2 without. Colamonici joined the Azzurri staff in 2010 as a technical contributor in the men’s Under-23 sector. Between 2013 and 2016, he was Head of the Men’s Junior Sector: the Azzurrini, under his direction, won 10 medals at the Junior World Championships (5 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) and 15 at the European Championships (8 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze). He has been a member of World Rowing’s Youth Rowing Commission since 2009. “I am happy for this appointment and I thank President Tizzano and the Federal Council for the trust they have placed in me,” says the newly appointed dt. “I will work to grow Italian rowing at the competitive level, in view of the Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles, and at the youth level, with the aim of putting my previous experiences, both international and corporate, at the service of the entire movement. My commitment will be directed not only to the search for new talent among the athletes, but also among the coaches.” “Antonio Colamonici is the right profile for a Federation that looks to the future with the will not only to obtain important results in the Olympic and Paralympic spheres, but also and above all to develop the movement in its entirety, starting from the youth categories – says Federal President Davide Tizzano – The results obtained in the last eight years are the figure of a coach with an international profile who, throughout his career, has shown to be able to put technological innovations at the service of the growth of the Romanian system. The new Azzurri technical director will have the task of enhancing not only talents on the competitive front, but also on the technical one, thus contributing to the maturation of young Italian coaches who until now have not yet found a place in the national teams.” Within the new technical area of the Italian Rowing Federation, Giovanni Calabrese will hold the position of head of youth (Under 23, Under 19, University) and non-Olympic competitive activities. At the Acqua Acetosa “Giulio Onesti” Olympic Preparation Center, Colamonici and Calabrese will meet with Olympic team athletes on Friday afternoon, December 20, and Saturday morning, December 21, to illustrate and share the methodologies being applied, and on Saturday, December 21, a representation of coaches, distributed by region, to lay the groundwork on the corporate training program for the 2025 season. Within the federal organizational chart, the figures of Gianluca Farina and Paola Grizzetti will also be included. New collaborations will be defined at the next Federal Council meeting, based on the dt proposals and expressions of interest in response to federal notice number 132. The Federal Council, also at today’s meeting, appointed Rossano Galtarossa as “sport and high performance director.”
– photo Federcanottaggio press office –
(ITALPRESS).
Rowing, Antonio Colamonici new dt toward Los Angeles 2028
