a cura di Pino Attanasio
Capri-Napoli Farmacosmo trophy: 25 swimmers for the race which celebrates 70 years
Saturday 9 September great challenge with Italy as protagonist and 8 other nations at the start
Seventy years of history, a new world circuit and a challenge with great charm that also involves
athletes accustomed to swimming in the pool. The Capri-Napoli Farmacosmo trophy retains its unchanged beauty,
although it is renewed from year to year: it will also be the same on Saturday 9 September, when the
58th edition of the race whose first edition took place in 1954. For the important milestone, the
Maratona del Golfo celebrates its inclusion in the new Wowsa UltraMarathon Swim Series
(World Open Water Swimming Association), which involves the trials scheduled in the United States
(Trans Tahoe), in Canada (Lac S. Jean) and Portugal (Lisbon-Cascais) and that from next year
will award the world titles for long distances.
The Capri-Napoli 2023 is once again offering the Farmacosmo trophy, the company specialized in
online sale of parapharmaceuticals, perfumes and wellness products, which has decided to renew for the sixth
consecutive year, the now usual and profitable partnership. As always the race will start from Marina
Grande, from “Le Ondine beach club” by Gemma Rocchi, at 10.00 am, with the presentation of the athletes
which will be entrusted to Massimiliano Rosolino (also present at the arrival); arrival in the Molosiglio area,
with the welcome village set up once again at the Circolo Canottieri Napoli which, for 2023, will be
the fulcrum of the various activities connected to the event, thanks to the precious partnership desired by the president Giancarlo Bracale.
25 athletes (18 men and 7 women) from nine nations (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France,
North Macedonia, Holland, Uruguay and Italy). At the men’s level, the reigning champion returns
Alessio Occhipinti (first in 2021 and 2022), Francesco Ghettini (winner in 2018 and recent
triumphant in Canada in the cold waters of Lake S. Jean) and the Macedonian Evgenij Pop Acev (on the step
higher than the podium at Capri-Napoli in 2016). With them, Mario Sanzullo, a Neapolitan from Massa di
Somma, Olympian in Tokyo 2021 and European champion over 25 km in 2022, who last year at his
debut had to settle for second place “frozen” at sea due to the interruption for the
bad weather conditions.
Sanzullo will try to bring the title missing from the last one back to Naples
victory in 1970 of the “Caimano di Baia” Giulio Travaglio. Then there is the debut of another Neapolitan,
Giuseppe Ilario, who after the bronze at the youth world championships in the 10 km is trying his hand at the Gulf Marathon.
Another debut arouses much interest and curiosity: that of Federico Burdisso, two bronze medals
at the Tokyo Olympics in the 200m butterfly and in the 4x100m medley and gold at the 2022 world championships in Budapest
in the mixed 4×100, who temporarily leaves the pool to try his hand at his first race at sea
open.
At the women’s level, the winner of the last two years, the French Caroline Jouisse, returns. There are then
four Argentines (Yensen and Imwinkelried the strongest), with Vanesa Garcia (third last year) who with
the 2023 participation equals compatriot Pilar Geijo in terms of the female attendance record
(twelve). The starting list is completed by a Chilean and the Italian Elena Lionello.
The 2023 edition was also opened by open competitions, a preview of the event, with the three stages
held on 23 and 27 June and 7 July, in which 81 athletes (competitors and masters) from eleven participated
nations (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Guatemala, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Turkey ed
Use) between the various Solo, Duo and Relay sections. A success in terms of participation has already been achieved
for next year, so much so that two open tests are already sold out.
Saturday, September 9, 2023
For the eighth time Capri-Napoli awards the Giulio Travaglio trophy, branded Coni Campania, intended for
best Italian in the race and established to celebrate the champion from Baia. To the best under in the ranking
the Filippo Calvino trophy will instead go general. The salient images, with the live broadcast of the final part,
will be broadcast by the TeleCapri broadcaster, which has renewed the partnership with a prize put on
prize that will be awarded to the best performance of a Campanian in the race.
Before the arrival of the swimmers engaged in the crossing from Capri to Naples, the waters in front of the Club
Rowers will host the Marco Pirone memorial, a competition born to remember the swimmer and
water polo player who passed away last December and who achieved it with Canottieri in the 1970s
great results. It will be held in the body of water in front of the Molosiglio and via Nazario Sauro
also an open water swimming test over the nautical mile distance, a competition that the committee
regional championship of the Fin wanted to embellish with the title of regional sprint middle distance championship.
Alongside the competitive event, there is also a non-competitive 900 metres. As always, all
demonstrations will be clearly visible from the seafront in via Nazario Sauro.
Overall, around 150 athletes will take to the water for another great show!
Another collaboration, the one with the Campania Marevivo Delegation which includes the exhibition
“OnlyOne”, on raising awareness of environmental issues, which will be set up at
the hospitality area of the marathon, at the Rowing Club, which you can view while waiting for the arrival
of samples from Capri.
After the conference held on Monday 4 September at the Circolo Canottieri Napoli, with thematic
medical/sports, coordinated by Professor Giuseppe Noschese, another one is expected on Monday 11 September
meeting, in this case curated by Maurizio Castagna, with sport and disability at its centre, an initiative which
resumes and expands the experience of last July 7, when Special Olympics athletes swam the
final stretch of the last open test, thrilling the public present on the seafront. To mark
the now usual and appreciated greeting to the swimmers, the day before the race, Friday 8 September, at
the spaces of Caffè Gambrinus kindly offered by the managers of the historic lounge in Piazza Trieste e
Trent.
