A year ago, while Italy was in lockdown, the races were suspended, the Olympics seemed a remote idea, Vanessa was training in the garage: but that time locked up was not wasted. And not only because her coach, as well as Italy coach Enrico Casella, says that she came out of that garage in better shape than before, but because it was in those days that Vanessa Ferrari, 30, our lady of gymnastics, he comes up with two (splendid) ideas: to return to compete on all four tools after years of specialization in the free body, to increase his chances of qualifying for the Games (possibility still open). And choose «Bella ciao» as the music of the exercise for the body. “She did everything,” Casella says. (Curiosity: in rhythmic gymnastics, there is a Russian athlete, Averina, who competes on the same notes, moreover sung in Italian – in rhythmic there is also singing, in artistic gymnastics only music).
So, very good Vanessa. «No, very good today just not. I’ve made a lot of inaccuracies, I know I’m worth a lot more. But I came back negative only three weeks ago after taking Covid, I had to stop training. The preparation was not that great. ‘ It was enough to snatch the bronze behind the English Gadirova and the Russian Melinkova, to the detriment of the other blue Martina Maggio, who finished fourth.
If opponents born when Ferrari (in 2006) became world champion in the general competition at the age of 14, if the last European medal dates back to 7 years ago, if in between there was an infinite series of injuries and operations , you understand how Vanessa can become a free teacher of Resistance (and we forgive you that it does not escape the fashion of adding “resilience”): while you are in the queue for anti-doping it is difficult to extract more political meanings from it (even if you certainly don’t mind the reference and many have explicitly interpreted like the former volleyball coach Marco Berruto now responsible for Sport of the Democratic Party: “He is not afraid to say which side he is on”), but Vanessa wants to make a different symbol of it: «It’s my story, made up of successes but also of defeats. Of huge injuries and misfortunes. And it also needed resistance to get to the bottom of today’s exercise, I was really tired! ».
But Vanessa, a corporal of the Army, knows that the moment is special and does not escape: «I dedicate this medal to Italy whole on such an important date. We hope to be able to get rid of the pandemic soon too, to be able to fill the sports halls again, reopen the gyms. I really hope that Italy can get up again, as I did, after this bad period. Now I want to start running again ».
The goal is called Tokyo, fourth Olympics, we have to resist a little longer.
April 26, 2021 (change April 26, 2021 | 08:29)
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