Italy "keeps on dreaming" after record medal haul in Tokyo

MILAN (Reuters) - Italians packing for their mid-August break rejoiced on Friday as the country's athletics team won their fifth gold in Tokyo, pushing their overall medals total at a single Olympics above the previous record of 36 set at the 1960 Rome Games.

"Italy keeps on dreaming ... we're the fastest in the world," read the headline of leading daily Corriere della Sera after Italy won a shock 4x100 metres men's relay gold, beating Britain by one-hundredth of a second.

It was the Azzurri's first gold in the men's sprint relay and their first medal of any colour in the event since they won bronze in 1948. Italy had also never won more than three golds in athletics at a single Olympics before.

"Our greatest Olympics ever," Giovanni Malago, head of Italy's National Olympic Committee (CONI), said, after popping open a bottle of magnum champagne at the Italian team's headquarters.

Italy have won 38 medals so far, surpassing the target of 30 set by CONI and a consensus projection of 29, according to website Projects FiveThirtyEight.

President Sergio Mattarella called Malago after the sprint relay to praise the athletes and invite them to his Rome palace.

The surprise relay victory followed Italian golds earlier in the day in the women's Olympic 20km race walk and the men's karate -75kg "kumite" competition.

"Another day to frame in Tokyo, great Azzurri," Prime Minister Mario Draghi said in a tweet.

Italians across the country hailed a great summer, during which they also won the European soccer championship and the Eurovision song contest.

"Take this year, store every detail of it in your heart: that's how we need to live our lives. Always," Francesco Carabelli tweeted.

These achievements have brought a feel good factor back into the country after a difficult 18 months, during which the country suffered the second-highest death toll in Europe after Britain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"More huge excitement to our country and to all Italians who have suffered in the last two years due to COVID," Malago said.

(Reporting by Valentina Za; editing by Gavin Jones and Pritha Sarkar)

FILE PHOTO: Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Athletics - Men's 4 x 100m Relay - Final - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - August 6, 2021. Filippo Tortu of Italy celebrates with his national flag after winning gold REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Athletics - Men's 4 x 100m Relay - Final - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - August 6, 2021. Italy fans celebrate after team Italy win gold REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Athletics - Men's 100m - Final - OLS - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - August 1, 2021. Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy crosses the finish line and wins gold REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch SEARCH "OLYMPICS DAY 10" FOR TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS EDITOR'S CHOICE, SEARCH "REUTERS OLYMPICS TOPIX" FOR ALL EDITOR'S CHOICE PICTURES

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Athletics - Men's High Jump - Final- OLS - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan – August 1, 2021. Gold medallist Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy celebrates after winning gold REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

FILE PHOTO: Italian President Sergio Mattarella poses for a photo with Italian athletes departing to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Rome, Italy June 23, 2021. Paolo Giandotti/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

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