Featured Article Summary #168

Vatican City took part as a guest at the 2022 Mediterranean Games in Oran, Algeria, held from 25 June to 6 July 2022. This was Vatican City’s first appearance in the Mediterranean Games, and also its first debut in any major international multi-sport event. The delegation included one athlete, long-distance runner Sara Carnicelli, and two officials: Melchor Sánchez de Toca Alameda and Claudio Carmosino. Middle-distance runner Simone Adamoli was expected to compete but withdrew before the Games began. Vatican Athletics was set up in 2019 through an agreement with the Italian Olympic Committee, aiming to make international competition possible, though plans for earlier events were disrupted. At Oran, Carnicelli ran the women’s half marathon and finished unofficially in ninth place. Vatican City and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) agreed to create an official athletics team so the country could take part in major international events. Vatican Athletics was formed in 2019, and while it is affiliated with the Italian Athletics Federation, it is not linked to World Athletics. After observing events before, the Vatican was sometimes only allowed to compete later because it did not yet have a National Olympic Committee, and some planned Games were cancelled due to COVID-19. The Mediterranean Games in 2021 were moved to 2022 because of the pandemic. At the rescheduled 2022 Mediterranean Games, Vatican City made its first appearance, competing as a guest team and marking the first time it took part in a multi-sport event. Vatican City took part at the 2022 Mediterranean Games through Vatican Athletics, after an invitation supported by the president of the International Committee of Mediterranean Games. To be eligible, athletes had to be citizens or closely connected to the country through specific roles. Initially, Simone Adamoli and Sara Carnicelli were selected, but Adamoli later withdrew; the final team included Carnicelli and Vatican Athletics coach and technical director Claudio Carmosino, along with sports department head Melchor Sánchez de Toca Alameda. Carnicelli trained in Rome with support because Vatican City lacked suitable facilities, and the team traveled to Oran on a charter flight with the Italian delegation. The women’s half marathon at the 2022 Mediterranean Games was run on a city course near Miloud Hadefi Stadium, with Carnicelli competing at 8:00 a.m. on 30 June. She completed the race in 1:17:21, but her result was not officially recorded because her country joined as a non-scoring participant; if it had competed officially, she would have been ninth. Giovanna Epis of Italy won gold with a time of 1:13:47. After the Games, de Toca said Vatican City wants fuller integration with the Olympic Movement, comparing it to the Holy See’s permanent-observer role in the United Nations, and emphasized using sport for meaningful international participation beyond just winning. Pope Francis also thanked the organizers and, during Mass, spoke about how sport can support diplomacy and interfaith dialogue. Vatican Athletics continued representing the city through later events, with a non-scoring appearance at the 2024 Championships of the Small States of Europe, and it had previously signaled potential participation in the 2026 Mediterranean Games.