“We knew that the blue relay group was strong and that they would do well but from there to think about gold … even if after seeing Marcell in the 100 meters we did it a little thought. It was an indescribable joy”.
The words of Sebastian Bacchieri, the Parmesan coach of Fidal who prepared Fausto Desalu for Tokyo 2020, winner of the 4×100 relay together with Marcell Jacobs, Filippo Tortu and Lorenzo Patta, are full of emotion.
The Italian sprinter, born Eseosa Fostine, raced in third position on Friday evening, before handing over the baton to Tortu who crossed the finish line first.
A milestone that brings the relay in the history of Italian athletics, making an Olympics full of satisfactions for Italy even more special.
And there is a beautiful piece of Parma in the history of Desalu: here mother Veronica works as a caregiver, and here she got ready, on the track of the Lauro Grossi sports center, for the Olympic appointment.
“I work as a caregiver – my mother said today declining an invitation on TV – and I don’t want to disturb the lady I am assisting. I saw the competition with her and we were moved together and then we shared a cake that her daughter brought. It’s it was a beautiful afternoon. “
Tokyo 2020, Fausto Desalu’s mother: “I’m crazy with happiness”
“Gold pays off for years and years of hard work – says the coach with the hoarse voice of someone who has been celebrating and exulting so much in the last few hours -. The only discordant note is not being in Tokyo to be able to hug them all. Usually I live competitions very actively and being able to follow them only on TV was difficult. As I said to Fausto: I am not there physically but with the spirit, yes. “
The athlete’s triumph is also a nice birthday present for Bacchieri who turns 34 in these days. “I told Fausto that he shouldn’t have spent a single euro for the gift: ‘you just have to run as fast as you can!’. And so it was”.
Tokyo 2020, Italy is the new queen of speed: this is who the 4 blue arrows are
“On the phone, after the victory, Fausto thanked me for everything I did for him – continues Bacchieri excitedly -. He is a golden boy and he is not a play on words. He deserves this triumph because he is an exceptional athlete and a very serious professional. I met him in 2014 when I returned from the United States, where I went for a university doctorate, to help his former coach with the preparations. I packed up and returned to Italy because my childhood dream is to work with the Olympians. I met him in September of that year and the spark immediately took off “.
“In 2018 Fausto broke up with his coach and asked me to follow him and I certainly could not abandon him a few weeks from the European Championship. From there I became his coach in full. From Casalmaggiore he comes every day to Parma to practice in the Lauro Grossi sports center renovated, where the managers were very helpful right from the start. The doors of the center are always open for us, even on Sundays. The facility is perfect, one of the best in Italy “.
Bacchieri is the manager together with a partner of a gym in the sports center in via Po which in the last year had to remain closed to customers due to the pandemic “but at least Fausto was able to train there”.
Preparation for the Olympics also took them a few days to the Canaries to take advantage of the temperate climate during the winter: “We trained for six weeks in the Canaries during the Christmas holidays, away from family and loved ones. But today we can also say this sacrifice. which has been repaid “.
The nutritionist Tindaro Bongiovanni, the osteopath and physiotherapy manager Luca Caselli, the physiotherapists Nicolò Baroni and Andrea Ferrari are part of the staff.
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