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Vatican Athletics

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Vatican Athletics
Vatican Athletics logo
Country/RegionVatican City
Created2019(2019)
PresidentMelchor Sánchez de Toca Alameda
Websitewww.athleticavaticana.org

Vatican Athletics(Latin:Athletica Vaticana) is a sports organization associated withVatican City.Established as anathleticsclubof the city state, it has been described as the Vatican's first official sports federation. The athletics club is affiliated with theItalian Athletics Federation.

The organization is home to the Vatican'scyclingandtaekwondoassociations, which became members of theUCIandWorld Taekwondorespectively in 2021.[1][2]Vatican Athletics'padelassociation is also a member of the non-OlympicInternational Padel Federation.[3]As of March 2023,cricketandParalympic sportsteams have become part of Vatican Athletics, with plans to also incorporatefencing,basketballand potentiallyfootball.[4]

Vatican City is not yet eligible to compete at theOlympic Games,as that would require the affiliation of the country to the governing bodies of at least fiveOlympic sports.[5]

History[edit]

TheHoly Seeand theItalian Olympic Committeehad an agreement to set up an official athletics team with the intention making the Vatican City able to compete in international sporting tournaments including theSummer Olympics.[6]The Vatican will have to secure membership of theInternational Association of Athletics Federationsto be able to compete internationally as well as set up aNational Olympic Committeeto be able to participate in the Olympics.[7]

Vatican Athletics was launched on 10 January 2019 with 60 initial accredited members which includesSwiss Guards,nuns, priests, museum workers, and maintenance workers as well as two migrant Muslim Africans as honorary members.[8]Vatican Athletics is the first sports team to have legal status in the Vatican and is officially affiliated with theItalian Athletics Federation.[6]

The first podium finish of Vatican Athletics was at the Maratona di Messina, a marathon inMessina.Don Vincenzo Puccio, a Sicilian priest, won a silver medal for the team.[9]

As a national team, Vatican Athletics are aiming to participate in theGames of the Small States of Europe.[7]They attempted to make a debut in the 2019 edition, but they, along with theFaroe Islands,were barred from participating due to an absence of a national Olympic committee.[10]

In 2021, theInternational Cycling Unionwas the first Olympic sports federation to admit Vatican Athletics to their ranks.[11]

In 2022, one athleterepresented the Vatican Cityat theMediterranean Gamesin Algeria in a non-scoring manner.[12]

Team image[edit]

Vatican Athletics uses a render of theVatican coat of armswhich consists of two keys and a papal tiara as its symbol. The team's uniform are in blue, yellow, and white; the latter two being colors found in theVatican flag.The team have Italian firmErreàas its official uniform supplier.[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^""Christ on a bike!" Vatican City officially becomes a UCI cycling federation; Some cyclists are rejoicing at UK petrol shortages; Ineos switch to Bioracer for 2022; Disc brake 'conspiracy' comments; Ex-pro banned for 9 years + more on the live blog ".road.cc.2021-09-24.Retrieved2021-11-25.
  2. ^"[World Taekwondo] World Taekwondo officially recognises Vatican Taekwondo as."m.worldtaekwondo.org.Retrieved2021-11-25.
  3. ^"Vatican State becomes a member of the Padel World Federation".tennisnet.com.2022-05-01.Retrieved2024-01-18.
  4. ^"Il volto solidale dello sport"[The supportive face of sport].L'Osservatore Romano(in Italian). 2023-03-04.Retrieved2024-01-18.
  5. ^Nelsen, Matt (2022-07-05)."The Vatican seeks to chart a new path in the Olympic Movement".Infobae(in Spanish).Retrieved2024-01-18.
  6. ^ab"Nuns on the run: Vatican launches athletics team and targets Olympics".The Guardian. 10 June 2019.Retrieved28 June2019.
  7. ^abPavitt, Michael (11 January 2019)."Vatican establish athletics association but several hurdles remain before potential Olympic inclusion".Inside the Games.Retrieved28 June2019.
  8. ^Picheta, Rob; Borghese, Livia (11 January 2019)."Godspeed! Vatican launches official athletics team".CNN.Retrieved28 June2019.
  9. ^"Vatican athletics team secures first success".Wanted in Rome.16 January 2019.Retrieved28 June2019.
  10. ^"Europe's tiniest states square off in the Olympic mini-games".The Economist.30 May 2019.Retrieved28 June2019.
  11. ^"190th Congress of the UCI".UCI.24 September 2021.Retrieved26 January2022.
  12. ^"Vatican City primed for debut at Mediterranean Games".
  13. ^O’Loughlin, Michael (8 March 2019)."Meet the Vatican team running for the greater glory of God (and maybe the Olympics)".America Magazine.Retrieved28 June2019.
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