Daniele Garozzo has announced his retirement from great fencing. The Italian has learned to hang up his foil, communicating his decision through a long post published on his social profiles. The Rio 2016 Olympic Champion he talked about a “injury” to the heartaddressed words of great love to the sport he has practiced for a lifetime and expressed the utmost gratitude.
The 31-year-old Sicilian boasts a very rich palmares: not only gold at Rio 2016, but also silver at the Tokyo 2020 Games; at the World Championships you won the team title four times and the individual bronze in 2017; at the 2022 European Championships you signed the double with the seal both in the individual and with the team; last year she won the team event at the European Games.
Daniele Garozzo will therefore not be able to be part of the match at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Below is his full message released on social networks.
DANIELE GAROZZO ANNOUNCES HIS WITHDRAWAL: THE MESSAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
The time has come to announce my retirement from competitive activity and there are many emotions I feel. It is a decision that arose from circumstances beyond my control, my heart was “injured”, but which I accept with serenity. In all these years, I have been fortunate enough to experience an extraordinary adventure in the world of sport, culminating with the victory of an Olympic gold and silver. It was a journey made of sacrifices, commitment and passion, joys, satisfactions and friendships that I would never have imagined. I remember like it was yesterday when I started practicing this wonderful sport.
If I close my eyes I still see myself in the garage gym in Acireale throwing millions of hits against a dummy, dreaming of one day winning the Olympics. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love fencing. I loved her with tireless dedication and with all my heart, and I worked hard, but all of this brought me to the results I had dreamed of. Now, as I close this chapter of my life as an athlete, I am grateful for every moment and experience that has made me the person I am today.
Looking to the future, I had already decided for some time to dedicate my professional life to medicine, today with an even clearer objective: to study and disseminate the often unknown cardiological conditions that can afflict the sporting population. My personal experience has shown me how important it is to carry out effective awareness-raising work on these issues to ensure better prevention and optimal management of athletes of all levels.
I am aware that I am the luckiest guy I know. I made my sporting dreams come true, I traveled all over the world with amazing friends and I found my best friend and life partner on the fencing platforms. Many have helped me along this path, and I would like to thank them all, today and as I have always done in the past. Above all, my Master Fabio Galli, who taught me first to become a man, then a champion. Even if everyone only saw me on the platform, there were always two of us throwing and taking those hits.
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