Raffaeli: ‘In Paris to amaze. There is already a great understanding with the new coach’

From our correspondent Federica Cocchi

October 14th
– TRENT

Atomic yes, ant no: “When I started I was a little girl, but now I’ve grown up…”. Sofia Raffaeli is a rhythmic gymnastics champion, at just 19 years old she has already conquered the world, and the goals that lie ahead of her are even more important. There is Paris on the horizon, the first Olympics, where she will present herself as a protagonist and with a new coach, Claudia Mancinelli, who will have the task of bringing her and Milena Baldassarri, the other athlete from Fabriano, to the next Olympics summer. The coach who shaped her, Julieta Cantaluppi, chose to accept Israel’s proposal and in a few months Sofia will have to build the Olympic routine and become familiar with the new technical guide: “I must say that we work together and we know each other alone two months but a wonderful relationship, both professional and human, has already been established.”

For Paris

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And above all she has begun to lay the foundations for the exercises that will see her on the Olympic platform: “We have begun to set something up but I can’t reveal anything… The competition is already fierce enough, we don’t want to give them an advantage…” . However, even without the historic coach, Sofia will have at her side Milena Baldassarri who has already had experience of the Games in Tokyo: “For me it will be very important to have her with me. To share the emotion, to also get some advice. When I started I saw Milena as a point of reference, now that I’ve grown up our relationship is more mature, we rely on each other, we advise each other and if before she was the one who supported me, now I too can lend her a hand”. Rivals, however, never: “No, there is no rivalry, one is rooting for the other”.

fair play

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Perhaps also for this reason that Raffaeli received the “Respect” award at the World Cup stage in Milan for her always correct conduct: “Gymnastics is a sport of effort, commitment, discipline. Naturally each of us gets on the platform to bring home a victory or a medal, but it often happens to console a rival, or to receive consolation and affection from other athletes. Each of us knows well the effort and sweat needed to prepare for an important race and it is a shame when someone doesn’t He can do his best.”