The Quartese, 25 years old, the first Italian to dominate the specialty in the world championship: “Now I want a statue with my face”
SASSARI. Nicola Bartolini is the new world emperor of artistic gymnastics. The 25-year-old Quartese yesterday gave Italy the first historic free body gold at the Kitakyushu World Championships in Japan with a score of 14,800, ahead of the Japanese Kazuki Minami and the Finnish Emil Soravuo. Only fifth the Filipino Yulo, defending champion.
«I am world champion, I am world champion – Nicola repeated almost incredulously with the gold medal around his neck -. I have no words to describe my happiness. It was a long way but I got my claws out at the right time and I also had a bit of luck, which never hurts. The favorite was the defending champion, Carlos Yulo. When he went off the platform I really realized that we could aspire to something big, he was the opponent to beat. Of course I didn’t think I was going to win the gold ».
The world gold of the 25-year-old from Quartu is the first in the history of blue gymnastics to the free body. The last podium in this specialty dates back to the Dortmund 1966 edition with Franco Menichelli, Olympian in Tokyo 1964, while Jury Chechi’s last win in a world championship of men’s artistic is by Jury Chechi at the rings in Lausanne in 1997.
Nicola’s success at the world championships not only writes a historical page for Italian sport but also represents a personal revenge against a destiny that has often turned its back on him. Already winner of the bronze medal at the European Championships in Basel last April and gold at the absolute championships in Naples, Bartolini (1 meter and 70 for 65 kilos), a great lover of dogs and tattoos and in 2011 protagonist of the reality show “Parallel Lives” , thus finds his personal revenge after being forced to skip Rio 2016 due to a shoulder injury and above all after seeing the Olympic pass for Tokyo fade due to a very complicated game of joints typical of artistic gymnastics. “It was the most difficult moment of my entire career, it was very difficult to recover.” Nicola succeeded by taking refuge in his Sardinia, alone with his family, friends, the sea. Recharged, he’s back to get a world gold. “Before me, only Menichelli had gone free-body on the podium, now I want a statue too”. Maybe without that “Unlucky” neck tattoo, unfortunate. Now it is no longer valid, congratulations Nicola.