Pesaro, 7 June 2024 – “The body is important, but more so are the head and willpower”: that’s his name Francesco Federiciborn in 1992, is from Pesaro, works as an accountant at Eni24h Gabicce and since he was born he has suffered from heart disease which has led him to end up in hospital several times.
This, however, did not stop him, but rather gave him a greater energy, which made him enter the gym to test his body, becoming bodybuilders and bringing a new category to the Italian championships of this discipline: the disabled category. “Since I was little I always thought that I wouldn’t be able to do the same things that other children did – says Francesco -. I had to have many operations, which always kept me in a hospital bed for a long time. In my head, however, I thought that I should react, that I couldn’t let this adversity get me down. After the last surgery, in 2016, I weighed more than 90 kilos, which seems a little, but for someone 1.50 meters tall like me, it’s a lot. The nurse came and told me that if I didn’t lose weight, I would die. So, 10 days after the operation, I decided to join the gym, on the advice of a friend of my mother and from there a world opened up to me.” A world that brought Francis to Perugia at the Italian championships, in May this year, to raise awareness among other athletes on this issue, on the issue of heart disease and disability, that one must never stop, but overcome one’s limits and climb the mountain of indifference.
“When I started – Francesco continues –, I lifted very little weight, because I didn’t have the energy. My coach William Iacucci, to whom I owe everything, has always encouraged me to do something more every day. After the Italian championships in Perugia, I went to Rimini Wellness, which took place last week. There, many athletes shook my hand, saying that I was an inspiration to them. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything special, but I know one thing: don’t be fooled by disabilities, because we are strong too.” Francesco will now have to wait until July 28th, again in Perugia, for the European bodybuilding championships, with the qualifiers of the international championships, which will be held on August 31st in Dubai: “It’s not easy – he concludes – because there are so many efforts. But we need to show that there are more sporting realities outside of the able-bodied, each with various difficulties. If I did it, why shouldn’t someone else do it?”
