Giovanni Malagò was awarded the Collare d’Oro on the proposal of CONI president Luciano Buonfiglio “for his commitment and dedication during his 12 years of presidency of the Olympic Committee.” The award was presented during the National Council meeting held in Rome.

“You will always find me on the same side, that of sport and of CONI,” said Malagò. “In this room, there are those who receive the Collare d’Oro for sporting results; we receive it for what we have done beyond those boundaries. It makes you look with a different kind of joy at those monstrous evenings spent and those pointless dinners we subjected ourselves to, all in order to serve the interests of sport. Sacrifices that took away time from life and family, from our work. For this, I am grateful. I hope that every person in this room will be able to obtain the Collare d’Oro, because you all deserve it, and it would be the crowning achievement of the journey you are making as leaders, coaches, or representatives of other bodies.”

The ICMG President Davide Tizzano was present at the National Council meeting in his capacity as President of the Italian Rowing Federation.