The first Olympics, Athens 2004, only 16 years old, was that of lightheartedness. The next, in Tokyo, will be that of suffering. Federica’s long run-up ends on a sunny afternoon in Riccione. The Divine pursued her with all her strength. A long run-up, in the midst of the pandemic. First there was the postponement of the Games for Covid, not a joke for an athlete who has to deal with an identity card. Then, at the beginning of the preparation, Federica had to face the virus directly. It wasn’t easy, she said it herself.
A season full of tears and miles. To achieve the Olympic dream Federica has renewed herself. For some years now, its preparation has been slightly leaner. But this time, together to his coach Matteo Giunta, was forced into a kind of revolution. No United States for example. The work, very precious, has done so together with his group in the Pyrenees, in the cradle of cycling. A trip by car to avoid risks. This is how it has moved up to now. Never the plane, only a mini van, which has almost become a second home. An “on the road” preparation. So it went also in Marseille, in the race in which he tested the condition before the Absolutes.
In Verona, which is his home, he has not given up. Complicated months. But now reward yourself with this milestone. Matteo Giunta, more than just a coach, suffered with her. “We’re at a good point. Federica hadn’t swam 1’56 ”since December and she did it with a speed that amazed me, without ever going over the top. Now it’s a matter of doing the last training period hard and we’ll see where we will be in June ». In May the queen will go to Livigno for two weeks, then at the European Championships in Budapest where he would like to participate only in the relays: «To have fun, without pressure». With the pressure, in recent months, he fought us. Now he will have to increase the work, but lower the tension. “We start from scratch,” he says. Before Tokyo also Settecolli and a second blitz on the Pyrenees. Whether they will vaccinate her remains to be seen. For now, not being in the military, it is not expected. “Who needs it first,” he says. Luckily he still has the antibodies. But until when?
April 3, 2021 (change April 3, 2021 | 09:46)
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