Tre narrazioni giornalistiche sul rapporto tra razza e sport: il caso dei “naturalizzati” italiani a Rio 2016

By analysing journalistic pieces related to the biographies of "naturalised" athletes, this article highlights the cultural assimilation functions attributed to sport proposed in two major Italian newspapers during the 2016 Olympics. Indeed, the recurring narrative structures identified in the news underline how the Italian sporting field is characterised by a functionalist public discourse, which still tends to represent foreign athletes from a post-colonial perspective.