MILANO
Stopping it is impossible. Once she is standard-bearer, the next she becomes a Barbie, then arrives on Netflix, and then again she wins European, World, Paralympic medals. Bebe, a steamroller of ideas, initiatives, sports, victories. It never stops, it doesn’t want to stop. Because he has a lot, a lot to do. The latest is the Bebe Vio Academy, the first of inclusive sport in Italy: it will see the light in October and will see together disabled and able-bodied children, who practice sports of different disciplines, side by side: not only is it possible, but to say it, in the manner of Bebe, “it’s crazy cool.” “It is a dream that comes true,” admits the Paralympic champion smiling in the little spare time between one training and another, now just over 50 days after the appointment in Tokyo. A project strongly desired, thanks to the collaboration with Nike and the commitment of “his” art4sport Olnus, a multi-year program based on four months of activity with bi-weekly meetings. Children aged 6 to 18 will be involved, with various types of physical disabilities and able-bodied children.
«We want to create little athletes who will one day become examples to inspire us. They are small children because we want there to be 100% awareness. If a child today understands what disability is and understands what a prosthesis is, tomorrow he will grow up with a totally different awareness of disability ”, explains Bebe. Who remembers on his Instagram profile: «I have always had a vocation to help others. My accident, then, added a deeper meaning to this instinct. And with the sporting successes came the chance to inspire. From that moment the vocation has become a mission and the mission a precise dream: to make sport accessible to all and to ensure that the Paralympic world can grow up to the level of the Olympic one. To achieve the goal, we need a cultural impetus that comes first and foremost from our generation. We are the ones who have the responsibility to really change things ».
Thirty children will try wheelchair fencing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, Paralympic athletics and football amputees, “as an athlete I would like to go back small to be able to join the Academy because it will be beautiful”, smiles the champion. Olympic and Paralympic athletes will practice sports and activities with the members and Bebe Vio herself will be present “very often”. “Milan lacks the opportunity to practice more sports, try different disciplines and choose your own path. Then from the following year, based on the choice, the activity will focus on a single discipline », explains Bebe. The dream, for everyone, will be the five circles. –