One afternoon with the 15 -year -old revelation of the blue sprint: “My dad cheers Milan and wanted me footballer. For the World Cup I didn’t decide just me”
In the middle of the afternoon, at the glorious field of San Donato Milanese, only the frinire of the cicadas is heard. The group that trains in the summer heat is very discreet. Then, suddenly, she comes. And everything changes. Kelly Doualla is a cyclone, an electric shock. At 15 he is already a leader: he fills the spaces with the only presence. Here, for a couple of years, there has been his second home. But now it is passing through: between gold in the 100 and in the Swedish relay won last week at the Olympic Festival of the European Youth of Skopje, in Northern Macedonia, and a gathering in Rome in view of the European under 20, from Thursday to Tampere, in Finland. Meanwhile, the echo of his 11”21 – continental record under 18 and third Italian woman of all time – has certainly not passed away.
Kelly, what experience was the first in blue?
“In terms of emotions a little conditioned by the empty stadium. And then I already knew many companions. Instead, it fascinated me to find myself among many foreigners, even if I communicated only with those who spoke French. From September, on Saturday, I frequent an English course”.
Technically it seems to have found yourself well …
“Only before the final of the 100 did I have some fear. And then, in the relay, I found myself uncomfortable starting from the blocks with the witness in hand. For the rest between the heat, the poor food and a flight lost on the return, it was not an easy trip. We went on to noodles pre -cooked by supermarket”.
In general, do you take care of the nutrition?
“I’m quite delicious, to the delight of Walter (coach Monti, editor’s note) I love fast food, but the dietician says I have less and less fat mass. My secret, together with a dozen hours of sleep a day, including the afternoon, is mom’s cuisine, with many chamber dishes based on meat, fish and vegetables. I would like to return to the country of origin of my parents to see where they grew up. ”
How is the relationship with them?
“I owe him a lot: they modulate the work in the nursing home based on my needs. Dad, in the majority of cases, takes me from Sant’Angelo Lodigiano to the field. And he accompanies me to school, avoiding half an hour on foot. And if he can’t, they think about it by Mother’s bus, which then he also hairstyles my friends, or my brother Franck”.
How much does it take to do his own?
“For the latter, blue not by chance, it took four hours. It will last a month.”
Are you proud of her?
“I try not to give him worries: when I go out, they always know where I go. And never in the evening.”
“In Milan, with the friends of Athletics we find ourselves in the Cathedral and we go to eat. Easier with them than with classmates, even if my elementary, medium and now my scientific sporting high school, in Sant’Angelo, are all in the same complex”.
What are your favorite subjects?
“Can I say gymnastics? I don’t do it often, but next year we will also try teakwondo”.
Is it true that dad would have wanted him a footballer?
“He is a great fan, Milan fan, but now he is happy. If I didn’t risk making me hurt, however, I would always play football at football. I follow a few games on TV and is the only sport that involves me. Athletics aside, of course.
Given the attention he is enjoying and his age, do you feel a little under pressure?
“What I do amuses me a lot, even if on the game that was, it is becoming something more serious”.
Are 100 his favorite race?
“Yes, also because I never ran a 200. I think I can do them well, but the curve a little scares me, making one this winter in Ancona in an indoor relay, I hurt myself for the first time in my life. We will see the next season”.
“I’ve never really prepared it, but I have good feet: I think I have many margins.”
Who appreciates among the “colleagues”?
“Shelly-Ann Fraser, Sha’carri Richardson, Tara Davis and, among the Italians, Filippo Tortu that I have met sometimes”.
What memories do you have blue exploits at the Tokyo Olympiad?
“Almost nobody, I was 11 years old: I saw Tamberi, but then I fell asleep …”.
“I saw it live at the European Championships in Rome: I prefer the most aggressive sprinter”.
Do you think about the Tokyo World Championships?
“Only the idea makes me understand where it has already arrived. It is true that I would also like to go a little on vacation, but the decision will not be mine alone”.
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