Katia Aere from Spilimberg on the finish line in Tokyo
Third and first blue medal in para-cycling. “Am I 50? Age is just a number, you have to believe it “
SPILIMBERGO. Its motto is “If you can think it, you can do it”. And even this time it has not betrayed expectations. It is a historic result for the Italian Paralympic cycling that obtained by Katia Aere, a native of Spilimberghese, more precisely from the hamlet of Barbeano, who at the age of just turned 50, on her debut in the Five Circles competition at the Tokyo Paralympics, has conquered an extraordinary bronze medal in the individual road cycling event, category H5.
The blue reached the finish line covering 66 km in 2 hours 28 ’11 “, with a delay of 4’32” from the winner, the American Oksana Masters, total dominator of a race closed alone with 2 hours23’69 “with which the Chinese Sun Bianbian, second classified by 3’11 ”. A result, the one obtained by the Italian athlete who had to deal with an autoimmune disease that destroyed part of her muscles, made even more extraordinary by the fact that Aere only approached the handbike in the summer of four years ago, when the World Championships were run in Maniago, after winning Italian titles in his first sporting love, swimming.
To spark the spark for the new discipline were the acquaintance and then the strong bond of friendship established with Alex Zanardi whom, Aere, standard-bearer of Anmil Sport Italia and Obiettivo3 (the initiative conceived by Zanardi himself in the spring of last year to give a sign of hope to Italy after the first lockdown, ed) wanted to dedicate, among tears, yesterday’s result which makes her the first Spilimberghese to have obtained an Olympic podium as well as the first Italian woman to win a Paralympic medal in cycling.
«I will always thank Alex Zanardi, because it is also thanks to him that I have learned to love this sport. This medal is also hers », was one of Aere’s first hot comments once she crossed the finish line, incredulous for the feat accomplished. A dream that became reality thanks to the extraordinary results obtained in the blue jersey in the Para-cycling World Cup on the road first in Ostend, Belgium, where, at the first international experience, she fully repaid the trust placed in her by the coach Mario Valentini climbing twice on the podium, winning as many bronze medals in the category, both in the time trial and in the line race over the distance of 60 km, then winning two more bronzes in Cascais, Portugal and, winning, the Italian championship in Prato in the same discipline.
A series of extraordinary achievements that have allowed her to earn her way to Tokyo. “I always say that I believe it until the next day but at this moment it still seems like a dream” continued the blue taking the opportunity to thank “all those who helped me get here: the national team staff, the doctors , the mechanics, technicians and physiotherapists who have supported and supported me over the years. And I thank all of Italy, because I felt their support pedal after pedal ». A milestone reached at the age of 50 last August 28, demonstrating how “age is just a number: it is never too late for anything, you must always believe in your possibilities and cultivate them to the fullest”.