The former gymnast spoke openly with Silvia Toffanin, talking about the fight against eating disorders and her parents’ health problems
In the living room ofvery true“, the former internationally renowned gymnast Carlotta Ferlito he opened his heart, telling his story and the challenges he faced throughout his life, up to the most difficult: his mother’s illness. From the London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics, to personal successes such as graduating with honors in Communication, Media and Advertising from the Iulm University of Milan, Ferlito spoke to Silvia Toffanin of the difficulties overcome and the goals achieved. But he also decided to face the darker sides of his sporting career, including the abuse and humiliation he suffered.
“No little girl should be slapped or humiliated if she asks to go to the bathroom, forced to do exercises where she risks her neck just as a punishment”, Ferlito said in a monologue to “Hyenas”. To “Verissimo”, Ferlito reiterated his points of view, saying: “I didn’t have the awareness and character to react to humiliations of coaches. I’m talking about abuse on both a physical and psychological level. They told me: ‘You’re worthless.’ Or: ‘You’re as fat as a pig.’ I have paradoxically suffered from eating disorders just recently. In therapy I discovered that they come out later. The complaint? I have never regretted it because something improved thanks to that too. I spoke with the belief that if you try to make your voice heard, eventually someone will listen to you. This sport cannot and must no longer be made up of psychological and physical violence.” The gymnast then expressed the desire to decide independently on her life path: “I want to decide how, when and where my career begins and ends, to be autonomous, even inconvenient if necessary, not to obey anyone. Every day I try to improve, just like I did in the past as an athlete, only today I do it as a person, as a woman. AND this time I do it alone, without anyone who can decide for me what is right and what is wrong.”
Thus, reflecting on his sporting career, Ferlito admitted to having one regret: “One thing I carry with me, my skeleton in the closet, is not having chosen the end of my career. When you stop training as much, your body inevitably changes. Eating disorders? When I left those four walls of the gym and faced the outside world, I felt less and less confident. From there I started not seeing myself anymore, not eating anymore. I only felt loved and appreciated when I was a gymnast and went to the Olympics. There was a time when I didn’t eat at all anymore. Then I discovered it in therapy: it was as if people no longer loved me.”
Despite his sporting and personal successes, Ferlito spoke about the difficulty of dealing with his mother’s declining health Robertawho was diagnosed in 2022 with ALS: “My mumand he won’t be here much longer.”, explained the visibly moved former gymnast. “I can’t wait for her pain to stop existing. Trust that Seeing my mother pass away day after day is the greatest pain I have ever felt in my life and I don’t think I’ll ever try a bigger one. Mom doesn’t want to be intubated. Everyone should be able to decide when their life no longer makes sense to live.” Recently, the mother was transferred to a hospice. “When they fixed her up, they made us leave the room and when we came back she said to us ‘Don’t treat me like a fool’, letting us understand that she is still present and that she wants to help us manage this situation,” he added Ferlito. Carlotta then also spoke about the difficulties of her father, who had had a heart attack in October 2023 but is now out of danger: “Recently my father had a heart attack, but now he’s fine,” he concluded, adding that the father keeps everything inside, probably to protect his children.
