Dives, Pellacani in the footsteps of Tania: ‘Now half a kilo of ice cream’

Chiara the American, or rather the Roman. That it will never be a car like the Chinese but she knows how to enjoy the moment, she knows how to seize the moment, she has enjoyed the most important gold of her five European medals at home, the one from the Olympic springboard. Three meters to treat yourself to a night at Cagnotto’s. It is she, Chiara Pellacani, 19, the natural heir of the legendary Bolzano. That after her triumph, before a few days at sea and returning to Louisiana where she dives and studies, she tells herself this way: “What did Thomas say to me? From start to finish he told me to believe it, enjoy it to the end. Because I was at home with all these people. To enjoy every moment. Tania? We had meetings every night and she gave advice to everyone, telling us about her experience during the race and how she handled the tension. So young and a leader? I don’t feel like a leader. But I feel part of this team which is a beautiful team. we are both young and athletes with a little more experience. We can share our thoughts and experiences ”.

Experience

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And then there is the experience of 12 medals won, with 5 golds at just 19 years old. “What mattered most today? Proverbial calm? Getting on the trampoline and I felt the cheering I tried to live it well by telling myself: I’m home. I try to give my best and then what comes comes. Smile before the last dive? Because it was the last dive and I felt the cheering and it made me happy. I just enjoy it. How will I celebrate? Tonight big tub of ice cream. Tastes? Classical. Chocolate, cream and pistachio. Half a kilo … Did you know it was the race with the most expectations? Yes, because I worked hard on it and I imagined this moment a little. But there is never anything taken for granted especially in this sport where the head matters a lot. And so in the end I succeeded and I’m very happy. Is it difficult to change partners and then be alone? Find focus? I have to say yes because I have very similar partners to me. It doesn’t change a lot and it comes naturally to me. Does the European at home increase satisfaction? So much”. And Tommaso Marconi, the technician of the Premiata tufferia Marconi, already a European medalist who took over Chiara when he comes from the USA from Domenico Rinaldi (now Spain coach), tells how he experienced the triumph aboard the trampoline: “To Chiara I said, when she had a 10-point advantage: it is useless to talk about technique, we were playing for gold, I put pressure on her, telling her take a quiet dive, without overdoing it. We need 6:30. It is within our reach. I saw her very serene. Even though the cheering was incredible, it could make anyone tremble. How about us in 2009 the Canadians in front of us at the World Championships in Rome for the bronze? Trauma passed, but I lived with it a lot. I didn’t think about it today. It wasn’t a rematch for me today. I thought about Chiara and the fact that she could take the most precious medal. She did it with a test of character. We got here not fit, we knew that. But you know you get here and you see the others that don’t jump well, you are wrong for a moment. Instead she had a very strong and beautiful race, she showed once again that she has the possibilities and the characteristics to be a European champion ”. At the end of five podiums that saw her as the protagonist of a swing of emotions, she too remembered her when she swam with a friend in elementary school in the summer camps: he retired, she started diving . And it was love. His sister Stella, sixteen, goes to scientific high school, dad Giampaolo is a sports journalist at La7, and mom Francesca (with whom he shares the same tattoo, a butterfly) is a support teacher at the Istituto Alberghiero. Chiara now looks to the Paris 2024 Games, aware that by raising the coefficients a little she will be able to play her cards. Of another thing she is sure: “I would not go to train in China, there the divers are machines”. And down a smile: golden.