“Until the Olympics there was an absolute veto for various reasons, but now I think it’s the right time even if I don’t plan anything”. Federica Pellegrini, guest in the Sunday debut episode of Verissimo, does not hide her desire to become a mother. “I’m getting close to the idea that there is no longer swimming in my life, but I’m not afraid. The changes for me have always been positive energy ”, he explains, speaking for the first time on TV after the farewell to swimming announced at the end of Tokyo 2020.
“It was a beautiful journey, made up of ups and downs. I enjoyed it. It was a positive release after a difficult year. Now it’s time to turn the page “, he told Silvia Toffanin in the episode that will be broadcast on Sunday at 16.30 on Canale 5. To crown a career full of successes, there was also the officialization of the love with the partner and coach Matteo Giunta: “We didn’t want gossip to enter our world of training and fast pace. We tried to keep the figures separate. He suffered with me and has always supported me. If it hadn’t been there I would have stopped swimming many years ago. It gave me the strength to believe more in myself ”. And when asked if he is the right man, Federica Pellegrini has no doubts: “Matteo is the best person I know”.
Not only victories, but also a hidden side made up of stress and too high expectations that often create health problems for professional athletes: “We athletes are often seen as robots who never make mistakes and are prepared for anything, but that’s not true. The Olympics brings a very high level of psychophysical stress that not everyone can handle “. An issue that is very close to the swimmer’s heart, who you have never hidden that you suffer from panic attacks: “I have kept them under control, even if they never completely pass. You learn to live with them and fight them, but they are always there ”, concludes Pellegrini.