The coach of the Agiurgiuculese, talks about the convening of her pupil: “Getting to the final is not utopia, in the last three world championships she has always entered the top ten”
UDINE. Spela Dragas has already been to the Olympics. Three times: in Athens, London and Rio de Janeiro as a judge of rhythmic gymnastics competitions. Now she will go there with a different role, that of coach, together with “her” Alexandra, who has accompanied step by step in these last five years of work.
Less than twenty-four hours from the branching of the Olympic convocations by the national technical director Emanuela Maccarani, who confirmed in Japan the gymnasts capable of conquering the two places (not nominative) for Italy, namely Alexandra Agiurgiuculese and Milena Baldassarri , Spela Dragas, the Slovenian coach who has always supported the Air Force airman, is preparing his bags to go to Desio where the final stage of preparation will be held.
She too experienced a qualification bordering on the dramatic, with three athletes (the emerging Sofia Raffaeli completing the triangle) who fought for weeks to the sound of exercises to win the trust of the dt Maccarani.
As a coach, did you expect this call-up after Alex’s last subdued performance?
«I think he earned it, showing for example that he can win a gold at the ball in the World Cup in Baku in May, the only Italian to do it this year. Of course this recent crisis of confidence has put everything in jeopardy ».
What happened?
«It all started at the Pesaro World Cup, when Alex ran into an off-platform exercise in the circle. From there she began to lose confidence in herself and the more she doubted herself, the more complicated things became ».
Do the exercises you have modified several times in recent months work?
«Absolutely, everyone loves his program which is very competitive and as soon as he manages to find balance and stability on a psychological level he gets very high scores. Alex is also in good health, she hasn’t been physically so well since the summer of 2019. Now she has to find the right mental status that allows her to believe in herself again ».
How do you train this aspect?
«Alex is followed by the sports psychologist and mental coach Mauro Gatti, who collaborates with the national gymnastics and fencing teams. I also relate to him, obviously in a separate way from Alexandra, to try to help her express herself better. He must believe he can do it, everything will depend on this element ».
However, it comes from a difficult winter.
“Of course, but I believe that at this point we should no longer talk about the Covid he had, or about his recovery or physical preparation. We have already seen that you are there ».
No international competitions for Italy up to Tokyo?
“The Covid emergency is not over and it is important to be attentive. For this the Italian national team has decided not to participate in the World Cup in Moscow. However, a federal online meeting will be organized with two or three other nations ».
What does it mean to go to Tokyo for you?
“More than participating in an Olympics, which I have already done, I am happy to have trained an athlete, to have contributed to the construction of the image of the Olympic gymnast Agiurgiuculese starting from scratch, to have followed her evolution and to have helped her to make his five-circle dream come true. Alex has always been looked after by me and the Asu Udine staff and I am proud of this. It was like creating a masterpiece ».
Where will Alex go in Tokyo?
«If the head is in order and if he leads a good all round without errors then he has the possibility to enter the final. This is not a utopia, just think that in the last three world championships she has always managed to enter the top ten. The resources are there, look at what a certain Federica Pellegrini was able to do… ».