Klaus Dibiasi interview: “I as Italian Sinners, enough controversy”

More than once Klaus Dibiasi, gold in three consecutive Olympics in platform diving (an absolute record for Italian sport), has declared that he sees himself in Jannik Sinner. “He is very similar to me. In fact, in certain things he is even better. I admire him very much for his character, even in difficult situations. When he was disqualified for doping, for example, he reacted calmly, I would have been much more angry! Then he comes from a small village in Alto Adige, like me who came from Bolzano, and in him I see my same desire to reach the rest of Italy.”

But he gave up the Davis Cup…

“He’s an athlete and like every athlete he has his own needs and his own programs, he can’t play every day without stopping. Every match is an enormous physical and mental effort, so it’s right that every now and then he takes his time, an interval as every training method provides. This boy will also have a private life, if he goes home every now and then we can’t massacre him. These are things that need to be understood, those who criticize him today don’t seem to be very informed.”

He was talking about Alto Adige, Sinner’s choice raised a fuss: some – including well-known faces – underlined how his origins or his language are not so representative of Italianness.

“The usual stupid controversies. I too have suffered them in my time, but I must confess that I have never suffered from them. The fact that Jannik also speaks German seems to me to be an advantage, it cannot be a defect. There is a historical reason why German is widespread in Alto Adige, let’s talk about the history of our country, Italy, which should be studied better… I was so happy to return home and speak my dialect! But I think it’s the same for a Neapolitan, when he speaks a strict dialect that is also another language, but I don’t think anyone says that a Neapolitan is not Italian”.

How important was wearing blue for you?

“Very much, anyone who chooses to be an athlete in life aspires to wear them and perhaps take them to the top step of an Olympic or world podium. It seems clear to me that I have always felt profoundly Italian, I competed for Italy in four Olympics, winning the medals I won, how else should I feel? And in Montreal 1976 I also had the honor of being the standard-bearer in the opening ceremony. When you represent your Country you feel a strong responsibility, you know that there are many expectations and in my case it happened especially after the first Olympic gold. As the defending champion, there was a lot of weight, you have to know how to manage it and I think Sinner is very good at this too. Everyone now expects him to always win, but it’s not possible, it can’t be a defeat that compromises the consideration we have of an athlete, even more so in his case, given that we’re talking about the first Italian number one in tennis. The defeats they are there and the defeats teach. I always told myself: to win you have to learn to lose. Having said that, let’s stop making comparisons between the present and the past. From diving to tennis to football, everything has been transformed, it is a high-tech sport, with staffs made up of many people in which everyone is ready to give their best. We also need to think about this before criticizing a great champion like Sinner.”