Third place in the 200 freestyle. «I thank all those who believed in me. I think of those who could not be here “
PAVIA
Monica Boggioni makes history: she is the first athlete from Pavia to get on the podium of the Paralympics, conquering the bronze in the 200 style category S5 at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, a medal that alone is worth a career, a lifetime.
Monica, 24, graduated with honors from Ugo Foscolo classical high school in Pavia, graduated in biotechnology and currently attending the master’s degree course in medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology at the University of Pavia, won on the first day of the Paralympic Games third place in the 200 style category S5 with a time of 2’55 ”70 is underway in Japan.
Hot hit
«Having won the medal in the first race is a great emotion – he declared -. In this medal there is perhaps a whole year of postponed Paralympics. There are all the efforts shared with those who believed in me in this path. So this medal is heavy: there are all those who cannot be present ».
The swimmer from Pavia had already given the impression of being able to get on the podium in the qualifications, with a medal that seemed widely within her reach, as she finished second in the heats of the 200 freestyle (category S5) with a time of 2’53 ” 67, improving the personal best by four seconds, having to bow only in front of the British Tully Kearney (2’52 ”30). In the final, however, the Pavese was surprised by the rocket start of Kearney and the Chinese Zhang, while the British Susanna Hext was also positioned in front of her.
The race
For the gold medal, the fight immediately appeared restricted to the first two, with the Chinese reaching thirteen cents before the English. For the bronze Boggioni, after the initial loss, began to fight, slowly but surely reassembling the Hezt, until he hooked it to 150 meters and then sprinted in the last pool, overtaking at the final 25 meters and distancing it until the finish. with an irresistible progression.
The young woman who grew up in Aics Pavia Nuoto at the end of the competition explained to Province of Pavia: «I am absolutely happy with the bronze medal. Honestly it was a podium that I did not expect because this is not my race and then being at a Paralympics is really very different from all the other races I had played so far. I liked the final, even if at the beginning I felt a lot of emotion. The most experts had tried to explain to me what it feels like when you are on the starting blocks of the final, telling me that what you feel before leaving for the Paralympics is not experienced in any other event, but I did not understand. Now that I have been through it, I can say that these are emotions that can only be understood if they are lived ».
Excited
Monica is now an expert athlete, with several gold medals at the world championships: “I was really excited when I started the final and this slowed me down a little in the first strokes, then I let myself go and told myself to enjoy the race to the fullest and try to have fun, I started the comeback and in the end it went very well, winning a beautiful third place ».
This medal has a special flavor for Monica Boggioni who thanks everyone, starting with her family: «They have always believed in me. My mom, my dad, my brother Matteo, to the club, to my coach Guy Soffientini up to my Aics team and the Fiamme Oro sports group. It is a heavy medal because there are really everyone inside, even those who cannot be present but who are here, inside my heart, like my dear grandfather Angelo, who will surely be exulting from up there ».