People MotoGP Francesco Bagnaia: A second exceptional “Collar d’Oro al Merito Sportivo”!

Following his title of MotoGP World Champion, Francis Bagnaia received on Monday the “Collar d'Oro al Merito Sportivo”, the golden necklace of Italian sporting merit, the highest award among the honors of the Italian National Olympic Committee. However, it is not very rare and, in fact, he already had it…

The CONI medal is awarded each year to dozens and dozens of athletes, sports leaders who have honored Italian sport for more than 40 years and already in possession of the gold star of sporting merit, or sports clubs having a seniority of at least 100 years and already in possession of the gold star of sporting merit.

The distinction is therefore not so rare and Francis Bagnaia had already obtained it in 2018 for his title of Moto2 World Champion, just like for example Franco Morbidelli in Moto2 in 2017 or Lorenzo Dalla Porta in Moto3 in 2019.

What is much more important is to receive this honorary award several times during a sporting career. Those who receive the golden necklace cannot in principle receive honors of lower rank. If an athlete, manager or club earns the Golden Necklace for the second time, then an honorary diploma is awarded, consisting of a plaque on which the Golden Necklace is reproduced.

However, it is indeed a real medal that the 25-year-old from Turin received in Rome, just like the Motocross pilot received over the last decade. Kiara Fontanesi, a name also known in MotoGP for other reasons…

Francis Bagnaia : " Receiving the Collare d'Oro for sporting merit for the second time is a great honor, and as MotoGP World Champion, it is something that excites me even more. As an Italian, I can only show this award with extreme pride and esteem for the exceptional achievement we have achieved all together. I thank CONI and President Malagò for their trust. »
 

Photo credit: CONI / Simone Ferraro