Federica Pellegrini talks about herself in ‘Oro’, a ‘wolf’ in the pool

2023-05-03 13:04:50

It has the name of the metal that she has most often worn around her neck – ‘Gold’, in fact – the autobiography of Federica Pellegrini: the ‘divine’ of Italian swimming – on the threshold of 35 and after an unparalleled career – is told in a volume to be released on May 16 from ‘La nave di Teseo’ and which the champion herself will present starting in various appointments, from the Book Fair (May 20) to the Milanesiana (July 13) flanked by Elena Stancanelli.

It is the story of a life punctuated by strokes, by the desire (and by the obligation) to always give more, to surpass oneself even before the others. Victories, world records, ‘resurrections’ for others that were unthinkable: seen from the stands, the Venetian swimmer’s races seemed like unstoppable rides, almost ‘easy’ in the dominion she exercised over her competitors. Instead, says Pellegrini, “racing has never been easy for me, but I was looking for that fight to the last breath. If I understood that I had to get into the water and fight to the death, the adrenaline would flow and I was happy. The ideal condition to compete was to feel like a hunted animal”.

Loved and feared, Federica Pellegrini, the Divine, in this book tells the story of the girl and the woman behind the athlete: two Olympic medals, nineteen world medals, thirty-seven European medals, one hundred and thirty Italian titles, eleven world records, five Olympics with as many finals in the 200m freestyle (unique in world women’s swimming).

But to face twenty years of career at the top, Federica had to fight a battle, first and foremost, with her body, called upon to give more and more, always her best: “The night before a race I almost didn’t eat. It was the tension, of course, but also a way of preparing for the attack, like the wolf who fasts, loses weight before going hunting to face the fight.Hunger or lack of appetite were not only nervous forms, but manifestations of an atavistic instinct to combat”. “In the beginning – she remembers – when I was just a little girl, I felt an emptiness inside that I filled with victories, but after a while it wasn’t that anymore. From a certain point on, I did it just for myself. they asked who I wanted to dedicate my victories to. The most difficult ones, those that came after hard periods, those of rebirths, I dedicated all to myself. Because I was the only one who knew what sacrifices I had made to obtain those results. I was the wolf”.

Loved and feared, Federica Pellegrini, the Divine, in this book confesses the girl and woman behind the athlete: two Olympic medals, nineteen world medals, thirty-seven European medals, one hundred and thirty Italian titles, eleven world records, five Olympics with as many finals in the 200m freestyle (unique in world women’s swimming).