Today, with a loot of 20 medals - 8 golds, 6 silvers and 6 bronzes - the adventure of the Italian military team at the 2017 edition of the Winter Military World Games, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM) in Russia. Thanks to the results achieved, the Italian representative, made up of 13 athletes from the Army, 5 from the Carabinieri and 9 from the Guardia di Finanza, ranked second in the final medal table out of 25 participating nations, placing behind the very strong team Russian.
The defense chief of staff, General Graziano, congratulated the military and the financiers who managed to achieve such a high goal and wanted to remember "the importance of sporting activity in the life of every soldier", then underlining how "the values of sport, such as commitment, sacrifice, competitive spirit, courage, generosity, loyalty, respect and team spirit are the same that characterize the armed forces and are, therefore, the common heritage of every soldier".
The closing ceremony, in a spectacular evening full of emotions for the over 500 military athletes, brought the curtain down on this third edition, preceded by that of 2010 in Aosta and that of 2013 in Annecy, France, which they gave to the Italian team respectively first and second position in the final medal table.
The military team will return to Italy tomorrow afternoon and will be welcomed at the military airport of Pratica di Mare by the Undersecretary of Defense Gioacchino Alfano and by the highest representatives of the armed forces.
The CISM was founded in 1948 with the aim of forging permanent relations between the armed forces around the world, in the fields of sport and physical education. CISM is currently the only international military multisport organization, to which 127 countries adhere: as its statute mentions, it is an apolitical and non-profit body, truly unique in its kind, where sport is seen as a pillar of sport international and universal peace. Currently, there are 24 sports within the CISM and are the subject of world championships. In particular, the Winter Games are articulated on the disciplines delbiathlon, Nordic skiing, alpine skiing, skiing orienteering, climbing, cross country and short track.
