L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS another reason to celebrate. Internationally, even the New York Times noted t h i s w a s m o r e t h a n a deserved sport victory. It evoked a "broader resur- gence," symbol of a national renaissance after a dramat- i c t i m e , a n d i t d e s c r i b e d "the eruption of sheer joy" for "a win that seemed to s y m b o l i z e r e n e w a l a f t e r a d v e r s i t y , " a n d t h a t "marked an extraordinary turnaround, not just for a recently beleaguered team, b u t a l s o f o r a r e c e n t l y beleaguered country." G a b r i e l e G r a v i n a , president of Federcalcio, said, when intervening at the Quirinale: "This nation- al team is Italy: it interpret- e d p e r f e c t l y i t s s p i r i t o f unity, and showed its huge cohesive potential, that of a wounded country eager to recover. Our nazionale is a G r e a t B e a u t y , n o t o n l y when it plays, but also for the values it shows. It's a starting point to make sig- nificant changes in the soc- cer world, but also in our country." A team victory, mirror to a g r o u p t h a t " n e v e r l o s t f a i t h , e v e n i n d i f f i c u l t t i m e s , w h e r e w e a l w a y s s u p p o r t e d o n e a n o t h e r , p l a c i n g t h e g o o d o f t h e team in front of that of the single player," as captain G i o r g i o C h i e l l i n i e x p l a i n e d : t h i s i s w h a t made the difference. Team spirit, but also efforts, sac- rifice and even tears (just l i k e t h o s e s h e d b y Leonardo Spinazzola, f o r c e d t o l e a v e t h e f i e l d with an injured Achille's t e n d o n , b u t a m o n g t h e fastest to collect proudly his m e d a l , i n s p i t e o f t h e crutches) shaped a result that is interpretation of the s o u l o f o u r n a t i o n , o f today's recovery and of our faith for the future. "It's been a huge celebra- tion for the whole country, and I can't deny I am proud t o h a v e g i v e n s u c h moments of happiness to I t a l y , w r i t i n g o n e o f t h e most beautiful pages in the h i s t o r y o f o u r s p o r t . W e s h o w e d t h a t , w h e n y o u believe in what you do, you can make all dreams come t r u e , e v e n w h e n y o u thought it was impossible," our CT Roberto Mancini at the Quirinale. N e x t t o h i m s t o o d Matteo Berrettini , the f i r s t I t a l i a n t o r e a c h t h e final at Wimbledon, the most important tennis tour- nament in the world. Only t h e p r e s e n c e o f a l e g e n d like Novak Djokovic, 20 G r a n d S l a m w i n s i n h i s amazing career, stopped the run of the 25-year-old from Rome, who will certainly give Italy plenty of satisfac- t i o n s i n t h e f u t u r e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , a n i n j u r y will keep him away from t h e O l y m p i c s , i n a y e a r which has been incredibly successful for him, and that will end in Turin with the ATP finals. Yet, facing the world's number one, and b e i n g t h e f i r s t I t a l i a n t o reach the final of a Grand Slam 45 years after Panatta a t t h e R o l a n d G a r r o s ( 1 9 7 6 ) , i t ' s b e e n a h u g e , unexpected and surprising result. And, in the end, how c a n ' t w e c o n s i d e r B e r r e t t i n i ' s c o m e b a c k i n the first set already a victo- r y m a d e o f a t t i t u d e a n d determination? And isn't our mere presence on the c e n t r a l c o u r t a t W i m b l e d o n , a f t e r a w a i t t h a t l a s t e d 1 4 4 y e a r s , already a success? Only two weeks after this historical day, it all starts again in Tokyo. These will be Olympics to remember, whichever way we want to put it. For the first time, the games will take place in an odd year because of the pandemic, that forced their cancella- tion in 2020 and still cre- ates worry in the Olympic Village today. It will be a record edition for Italy: 385 athletes, 198 men and 187 women, in 36 different dis- ciplines. No soccer, though, a paradox in a year such as this, because the under 21 team didn't qualify, nor did our female national team, p r o t a g o n i s t o f a g r e a t World Cup two years ago in France. A f t e r t h e d e b u t o f o u r softball team against the US and Australia, which took place before the opening ceremony, and the archery a n d r o w i n g q u a l i f i e r s , I t a l y ' s d r e a m w i l l b e g i n w i t h f e n c i n g – a l w a y s s o u r c e o f m e d a l s – b u t especially with swimming. T h e y ' r e g o i n g t o b e Federica Pellegrini – la divina –'s fifth Olympics. In her amazing palmares, which include the current freestyle 200 meters world r e c o r d a n d 4 0 0 m e t e r s E u r o p e a n r e c o r d , t h e Olympic games are perhaps the only blemish, in spite of her silver medal in 2004, when she was only 16. Four years later in Beijing, she o u t p e r f o r m e d e v e r y o n e , and reached the apex of her carrier 12 months later, at the world championships in Rome. After that, she didn't w i n a n y t h i n g e l s e a t t h e O l y m p i c s , i n s p i t e o f 7 g o l d s , 6 s i l v e r s a n d 6 bronzes in world champi- onships. At 33, Tokyo rep- resents an incredible chal- lenge for the longest-per- forming Italian swimmer in history. With a her, a girl who, in 2 0 0 4 , w a s n ' t e v e n b o r n : Benedetta Pilato, from T a r a n t o , w h o a l r e a d y wowed the world two year ago, when she won the sil- v e r m e d a l a t t h e w o r l d championships in the 50 meters breaststroke, a suc- c e s s s h e r e p e a t e d a f e w w e e k s a g o , o b t a i n i n g a n incredible world record at t h e E u r o p e a n c h a m p i - onships in Budapest. The distance where Benedetta e x c e l s i s n o t p a r t o f t h e games, but the Taranto ath- lete will certainly show her talent nevertheless. With them, we will wait not only for medals, records and good results, but also for stories, because behind every competition there are years of sacrifices, hopes, determination, labor and the courage to follow your dreams. We are going to be g l u e d t o o u r T V s c r e e n s again, on the edge of our seats and with our finger crossed, singing the nation- a l a n t h e m , h a n d - o n - t h e - heart. Ready to get excited f o r t h e t r i c o l o r e , a n d t o become one single cuore Azzurro. Continued from page 4 Roberto Mancini speaks at the Quirinale (Photo: Quirinale.it) "This national team is Italy: it interpreted perfectly its spirit of unity and showed its huge cohesive potential, that of a wounded country, eager to recover. "

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