Mauro Nespoli – also known by his nickname The Nesp – is an Italian archer who won a gold medal in the Olympic team event at the London games in 2012. He was also a member of the 2008 Italian Olympic team winning silver in the men’s team event. At the start of 2020 he was ranked as number 4 in the world, and his career has already seen him participate in over 20 international competitions with the Italian National Team achieving several records along the way.

Born in Voghera, Italy, Nespoli became interested in the sport after seeing archers when he was on holiday in Aprica as a nine year old. Nespoli’s gold medal-winning ways began at any early age, and he won his first gold medal in 1998 at the Italian “Giochi della Gioventù” (Youth Games), and he was chosen for the Italian Junior National Team. His senior career saw him travel to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed in the individual event reaching the third round. Nespoli joined Marco Galiazzo and Ilario Di Buò in the team event, where they beat Ukraine to reach the final and achieve the silver medal, missing out to South Korea for the gold.

Four years later, Nespoli travelled to the 2012 Summer Olympics once again with the Italian national team, and the team were ranked 6th after the ranking round. They proceeded to beat Chinese Taipei, China and Mexico to reach the final, where they were victorious against the United States winning by 219-218 to take home the Gold medal.
Coached by Roberto Finardi and currently training at Aeronautica Militare in Vigna di Valle, Nespoli is expected to make his third Olympic appearance at the Tokyo games.