The bronze weightlifter arrived in the capital, in a few days he will return to his Pordenone. “My life has changed? I’ll understand in some time, so far I’ve slept 4 hours in 5 days ”
The life that changes at 23, 10 thousand kilometers from home, chasing a dream that becomes reality. And then everything acquires a meaning: fatigue and disappointments, the thought of giving up. Everything finds its place and you can already think about tomorrow: Paris 2024 is the goal of Mirko Zanni, the weightlifter from Cordenons who won the bronze medal in the 67 kg category at the Tokyo Olympics. Zanni landed in Rome on Wednesday evening and will return to Friuli in a few days. Waiting to embrace the family again, he tells himself with kind ways, giving you a piece of emotion that is priceless.
Four days ago his life changed. How do you live this moment?
«I still don’t have an answer to this question, I feel caught up in a whirlwind of situations: maybe I haven’t realized what I did. I still have adrenaline on, I have 5 hours of sleep in 4 days. An experience like this happens a few times, it marks your life ».
It was a very tough race.
«To call it very hard is an understatement … I have never experienced such sensations: as soon as I entered, I felt an incredible tension, the air was filled with it. We were all in the same situation, the weather was heavy, it was hard to breathe. A race that has nothing to do with all the others I’ve done. «Besides the medal, my biggest victory is not giving up. I sensed that there was something wrong, but I didn’t know I was at risk of elimination for two voids in the momentum: I asked my technicians for explanations, they just told me “we have to lift 177 kg”. I presented myself on the platform in a trance: I woke up with the barbell above my head, I don’t know how to explain it. In the end, when I was told about the nulls, my blood froze. “
You dedicated the medal to your grandfather: how important is family to you?
“That’s all, I was very lucky to be born in such a family. Mom and Dad supported me from the beginning, they always helped me, they were close to me when I wanted to give up. Grandma Emidia is also fantastic. I had never mentioned Nonno Giuseppe in recent years because I wanted to dedicate something big to him. The first medal I won, at school sports games, I gave to him ».
Even the Army Sports Group gave her a big hand.
«He allowed me to train with serenity, supporting me in all respects: he rejoiced with me and did not leave me alone in his disappointments. I am proud to be part of a large family like that of the Army ».
When did you start believing that you could achieve such a result?
«The bronze medal at the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympics made me understand what I could do. Thinking about an Olympic medal was a bit of a madness, but in a sport you need that too. The possibilities were there, I picked up my pace: I could have taken the medal, but I knew I had to bring out what wasn’t there too ».
The next goal?
«Paris 2024. As a joke I always said that, with an Olympic medal, I would have stopped, but a result like this is not a point of arrival, but a starting point. It gave me an incredible emotion ».
Thanks to her, Pordenone has confirmed its national excellence in weightlifting: is there a secret?
«We carry out an important activity in schools, with recruitment we are able to approach talented kids. Even before that we are a family, my second family: there are yes and other negative periods, when one is in need, however, one always finds oneself there. If I think back to their emotion on Sunday, I still get chills. ” –