A golden comeback for Alessandro Giovagnoli. The young Taekwondo San Marino athlete claimed the top spot on the podium at the 2nd Swiss Open Kyorugi 2026, held on 5 and 6 September at the Athletik Zentrum in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Competing in the junior -78kg category, Giovagnoli returned to official competition after more than four months out due to an eye injury, which had also kept him from taking part in the Mediterranean Games in Taranto. The Sammarinese athlete defeated Germany’s Marius Henri Wolf 2-0 in the semifinal, winning both rounds 7-2 and 6-5. He repeated the feat in the final against Alessio Caspari, beating him 7-2 and 8-6.
This marks Giovagnoli’s first junior gold in an Open competition counting toward the ranking. The 20 points earned in Switzerland also allowed him to climb from tenth to eighth place in the European rankings. With this victory, the Taekwondo Federation of San Marino brings its overall tally of trophies to 376.
Sunday proved less fortunate for the other two athletes from San Marino in competition. Federico Amati, in the senior -63kg category, and Achille Tentoni, in the -58kg category, were both eliminated in the round of 32 — the former by Italy’s Matteo Pagliara, the latter by Switzerland’s Angel Jesus Garcia.
With the Swiss Open now behind it, Taekwondo San Marino turns its attention to upcoming events. The Federation will be present at Sport in Fiera from 18 to 20 September, while training courses will also resume in the coming days: from 10 September at the “Taraflex verde” gym and from 15 September at Fonte dell’Ovo.
