Never so many podiums (four) and such a large participation in the Games. Cremonesi, president of Coni: “Provincial sport stronger than Covid”
PAVIA. Five athletes at the Olympics, a haul of two silver medals and two bronze medals: it is a record of participation and podiums for the Pavesi at the Tokyo Games (the swimmer Norah Milanesi was also part of the local patrol, who competed for the Cameroon). “It is a success that comes from afar – explains Luciano Cremonesi, in his third term as provincial president of Coni and – the image of a provincial sport that has trained, which has tried in every way to survive lockdowns, swimming pools, to the shooting fields or to the closed gyms training always and in any case, finally reaping the fruits of this work ».
The facilities and shortcomings
Cremonesi then goes into details: «Let’s think of the two silvers, both Mauro Nespoli and Manfredi Rizza faced and overcome Covid. The first had a straw bag brought into the house so as not to stop training, the second did not hesitate to donate the plasma. Two attentive and generous athletes. Nespoli won his first individual medal, the third in a rich medal table that also includes a team gold and silver medal. If archery in Voghera has found its natural home, Mauro’s successes relaunch the entire discipline which boasts eight teams in the province. Manfredi Rizza’s silver comes from a Ticino ideal stage for water sports. The Canottieri in kayaking has had prominent names, from Gianni and Nicoletta Milani, to Luca Negri and Jacopo Majocchi: the clear demonstration that with a good nursery and valid technicians you can achieve great results. It is also clear that talent is also needed, but this alone is not enough ”. From silvers to Burdisso’s two bronzes: “Federico is a talent who had to emigrate early to blossom – Cremonesi emphasizes – the situation of the swimming pools in Pavia is not happy, there is only the Aquae Campus, which is private, while the public ‘is just Folperti. Indoor they have 25-meter pools, insufficient for high-level swimmers like Burdisso. I would also add Norah Milanesi, who represented Cameroon but who is a Pavia born sporting on the Campus and who finished 44th in the world in the 50 style ».
Let’s move on to the two girls who did not get on the podium: the boxer Rebecca Nicoli and the triathlete Angelica Olmo. «Rebecca brought Pavia boxing back to the Games 33 years after Giovanni Parisi – underlines Cremonesi – today women in this tough sport have a better chance of emerging due to the determination they put in and are in increasing numbers. Angelica emerged in a relatively recent sport and was unlucky, as she was forced to retire ». Cremonesi closes with a hope: «The Olympics were a global success for Italy, which had front pages in all the media and large spaces on TV. My hope is that all this will serve to relaunch the sport after the pandemic has penalized it, so the children will return to wanting to emulate the exploits of the Italian champions ».
Maurizio Scorbati