The former Italian skier a few hours before the start of Milan Cortina: “The whole world is watching us, a unique emotion. And we have a great team”
Paolo De Chiesa as an athlete he experienced three editions of the Winter Olympics, the memory is not pleasant but the former boy of the Blue Valanga has overcome many other moments in his life and recounts his experience with lightness. “My Olympics weren’t lucky. The first time in ’76 there were too many people stronger than me in the team and I wasn’t fielded, in 1980 I had just returned after a year off and I couldn’t expect much. And then there’s the 1984 Olympics…”. De Chiesa takes a breath and then says: “An incredible thing had happened that could never happen now. There was no room for me in the hotel where our national team was and this already says a lot about the organization at the time. They sent me to the hotel where the Canadians were, but they had finished the races the day before, they celebrated all night and I didn’t close my eyes. Imagine how I showed up at the starting gate.”
For the first time the Olympics will be held in two different cities, Milan and Cortina
“It’s something new, there’s great energy. The whole world will be in front of the television tonight to see this wonderful show and it will be a beautiful evening especially for the athletes who will be able to enjoy two inaugurations: some in Milan and some in Cortina”.
There are two athletes who will take to the track despite two very serious injuries: Brignone and Vonn
“I would never have thought that Federica would be able to return to the slopes in such a short time after the injury she had, an injury that I have never seen in the world of skiing. Of course, just being able to ski is a great feat, I think she won’t do the downhill because she has had little time to train and the lot of snow that has fallen in Cortina in the last few days has prevented her from practicing. But she will certainly be there in the Giant and that is her race. Vonn even wants to ski with a broken cruciate.. Incredible. In my opinion she’s exaggerating a bit because exceeding certain limits is dangerous for her health. She was the big favorite in the downhill race, she had achieved incredible results after returning to the track. Maybe she should have managed herself better, going down to Crans Montana was dangerous and given that the race was just a few days away from the Olympics she could have done without taking part in that race.”
For athletes, certain places have something magical: for you Campiglio, for Vonn and Goggia Cortina. Why does this happen?
“There are certain sensations that you perceive and memorize. As a kid I went to do the Italian championships in Campiglio and when I got on the chairlift I dreamed of doing the World Cup and the Olympics. And as a kid in Campiglio I always won, they are memories that you carry with you, a track particularly suited to your characteristics. Little things that make you love one place rather than another.”
As for Dominique Paris, the Stelvio di Bormio where the downhill will take place on Saturday.
“Yes, Domme won six times there in the downhill and once in the super-G, it’s one of the most difficult slopes but we also have a great chance of medaling because our team is really strong. A crazy quartet with Franzoni who has already won in Wengen and Kitzbuhel, but also Casse and Schieder. Potentially all four can get on the podium.”
And in Cortina everyone is waiting for Sofia Goggia’s victory
“She too feels wonderful on the Olympia delle Tofane, she has a great desire to demonstrate to the world that she is the strongest. If Sofia skis as well as she knows how, she can win gold especially now that there is an unknown about Vonn’s condition”
