Home » At fencing school with Mara Navarria: “I teach children, but the Paris Olympics are already in my head”

At fencing school with Mara Navarria: “I teach children, but the Paris Olympics are already in my head”

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LIGNANO. Three weeks away from Tokyo, Mara Navarria has already returned to the platform, but this time as a coach.

Last week, in Lignano, the Carlino swordswoman gathered 60 international swordsmen and foil players (from 10 years up to the masters), to give life to the World Champions Academy, a camp created together with her husband Andrea Lo Coco and Paolo Pizzo , two world champion, Olympic and Italian swordplayer.

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Teaching is a path that greatly attracts the Friulian, even if, in the immediate future, we will see her above all – and again – as a high-level athlete, who is already looking forward to the next five-circle event. Paris 2024 is in fact around the corner and the 36-year-old from the Army will soon begin to prepare, together with her team, the path to qualify for the third Olympic event.

From Lignano Mara has no doubts: «I definitely got a taste for it». After the World Champions Academy, the Friulian will enjoy a few days of vacation in our region and then begin to prepare the first appointments of the World Cup season (the first stop is in November, in Tallin).

What sensations did it give you to be back on the platform?

«The magic of Tokyo and the adrenaline are still there and I am very excited to have shared them with the children of the camp. I like going back to the platform as a coach, I like to spend my time on the platform with the new generations and also with fencing enthusiasts ».

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He has always believed in the importance of investing in young talents.

«For several years I have been organizing together with my husband and Paolo Pizzo a moment of training and summer fun dedicated to those who love fencing. I believe that for the little ones having the opportunity to confront our experience is a way to find inspiration and also, I hope, a guide: I myself, as a child, had my dreams and aspirations, and I learned in the years, working hard, how to approach and reach them. Sport for me is hard work, but above all fun and if you have someone who can show you the “way” and at the same time support you, the path becomes less difficult. This year we inaugurated this new edition in Friuli Vg, also involving Alessio Foconi, number 1 in the world foil ranking, and among the sparring Martina Favaretto, U20 champion always in foil, and for the sword Gabriele Cimini, who has just returned from Tokyo, and Giacomo Paolini. In addition to them, the group is full of fencing professionals, from my teacher Roberto Cirillo to Andrea Magro. In short, a high-level experience where there is no lack of generational confrontation, technical support but also a healthy dose of summer fun thanks to the presence of the beach and the sea ».

His medal is also an opportunity to bring new young people together.

«I have to say yes, the medal has an actual value and not just a symbolic one. In the first days of the camp I told how this bronze is the result of a very long journey, also born of very difficult moments such as the London Olympics in 2012 and then the failure of Rio 2016. To bring young people closer to sport, a medal can help , but then the journey counts, not just the destination: a company that believes in the values ​​of sport, a school that supports talents and accompanies them in a path of study and sports practice, structures capable of appropriately welcoming activities sportsmen and instructors able to train humanly and technically. I put all my passion and my experience at the disposal of these guys and I perceive in them admiration and desire to try. I am flattered and I am often amazed by this affection and this esteem, even on the part of the little ones, and I am grateful for it ».

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In your opinion, what is the state of the regional fencing movement?

“I believe that at a regional and national level it is time to rebuild and invest: there is a need for a lot of work at a territorial level, to bring, following the government indications regarding the containment of the virus, many other children in the fencing room. These two years have been difficult and most likely there could be years without practitioners. I believe that a national campaign to raise awareness of the great qualities of fencing could be of support to local realities. Personally, I personally commit myself and in the coming weeks I will participate in various events to tell about my way of experiencing sport and fencing ».

The camp was supported by the Fvg Region.

«The support of Regione Fvg and Promoturismo has been fundamental up to now: we accompany and support each other in many activities ranging from sport to culture. The collaboration with the departments of Bini and Gibelli and with the FGLive team is constant: the camp, this year, saw the participation of over 60 athletes from the USA, Belgium, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, France and Italy. It seemed to me an opportunity not only for sport, but also for the promotion of the territory; therefore, I have once again collected the availability of the region and the possibility of promoting Fvg as a pole where to practice fencing at high levels. For the parents of the children we have prepared kits with tourist information and for the masters a special eno-gastronomic evening. Sports tourism is an important target and then I’m always ready to tell about my home, as I do every Thursday on social media with the “Joibe a cjase mê” column, from art to naturalistic attractions: communication and networking to promote our beautiful region ” .

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