Erica Cipressa’s emotion in view of Japan
the interview
At 25, Erica Cipressa crowns her dream of going to the Olympics. Tokyo represents an important stage in her career, even if this appointment will come to us amidst the controversies that, in recent hours, have involved her and her father Andrea, technical commissioner of the Blue Foil Dream Team, for the choice made on the summons.
Erica, what are your emotions?
«I can only be happy with the opportunity to go to the Olympics. It is the dream of any athlete, and a child even before. Seeing your name written in the squad call was great. I don’t deny that I have to do it again because of the chaos of emotions I feel. There is certainly the will to prove that I deserve it. The Olympics, as a child, I imagined them as something great. In London 2012 I had been there, I had seen part of the races and visited the village, understanding the climate, the emotions and the joy of that event. Then, for the foil it went very well, with the female individual podium dominated and two team golds. It is the dream of all athletes to participate in it, the goal to be achieved in career. You can’t reach the visibility that an Olympics gives you with nothing ».
Do you lack the race pace?
«Physically I’ll get there, like all of us Italians, with a few races behind me for the pandemic. Luckily we managed at least to compete in the Italian championships, otherwise we go back to February 2020, before the lockdown. Without the race, you are missing a very important element in a sport like ours. I feel fit, prepared, without the tiredness of traveling abroad and, in any case, I changed my training, and this allowed me to improve myself in some precious details to make a qualitative leap ».
At the Absolutes she was fifth in the individual and team silver. But now we have to deal with the storm unleashed on his Olympic summoning.
“What is happening is very sorry, but I am not surprised. In the last month there have been attitudes and dynamics that have hurt me. I am not sure, but if I had been on the other side, I would have behaved differently. I understand the disappointment with a choice, not the reactions suffered, even if it can be part of the game. I’m sorry that people stress the fact of my last name so much. In 2018 I didn’t go to the European and World Championships, because my father was perhaps afraid of what is happening now. But I had the numbers to go there. I understand that the Olympics is not a World Cup, however, if you go and see the results, I don’t think we should talk about a scandal. A technical and tactical evaluation was made. Sure, my father did it, but should an athlete be penalized for the surname he bears? I let the comments slip on me and go ahead, and I hope that this story does not create disharmony in the team in Tokyo, where we will start as favorites. I repeat: I am an athlete and I respond to a summons. Do I have to deprive myself of something because my father is the technical commissioner? ». –
S.B.