Taranto 2026 is ready: the ICMG made the final program of the next Mediterranean Games official

JM González

July 16, 2024

The International Committee of the Mediterranean Games made the final program for Taranto 2026 official. With the return of triathlon among the novelties, the ICMG Executive Committee unanimously approved the proposal presented by the Games Organizing Committee.

Between August and September 2026, the 20th edition of the mega sporting event that brings together the nations bordering the Mediterranean Sea will be held. There will be more than 4,000 athletes from 26 countries who will meet in Italy, which will host the Games for the fourth time in history after Naples 1963, Bari 1997 and Pescara 2009.

For Taranto 2026 the ICMG approved the 30 sports that will complete the program. On August 21 will be the Opening Ceremony and the first competitions will begin the next day. The Closing will be on September 3, the day when athletics and water polo will distribute the last medals of the event.

One of the new features for 2026 will be the reincorporation of triathlon into the program, after its absence at the Oron 2022 Mediterranean Games, in Algeria. The discipline that includes swimming, cycling and jogging will have a male, female and mixed relay category.

#CIJM #medgames #SeaUnitesUsAll #playtrue pic.twitter.com/RWAu9KcdJb

— International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (@cijmmedgames) July 14, 2024

ENTHUSIASM IN GAMES

There is enthusiasm for what these Games can be. In 2022, the official presentation of Taranto 2026 was made and since then the president of the ICMG, the Olympic medalist Davide Tizzano, showed his hope in the level of the competition that will begin in two more years. “We are optimistic about Taranto and the population and the city are enthusiastic about hosting them. It is a challenge to fix the facilities in this region, but everything will be ready. We want it to be one of the best editions of the Mediterranean Games,” he said at the launch. of the event.

Tizzano as an athlete was an outstanding rower and sailer. He was national rowing champion 17 times between 1984 and 2005 and also world champion in 1986. With sailing he was world champion in 1993. In addition, he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996. Since 2013 he has been part of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games and elected as president for the period between 2021 and 2025.