A desire can hurt, especially if it is so sought after and awaited that, in the long run, it does not arrive. When you manage to achieve it you are not so much happy, but rather free to have removed a boulder from your heart which, like a pair of handcuffs, nails you to the torment of expectations.
The bigger the goal, the bigger the burden and he knows it well Jury Chechi that in 1996 ad Atlanta he managed to win the gold medal in the rings. The champion of Italian artistic gymnastics was a guest at Bonate Sotto Sports Hall on the occasion of “Time Out Sport Festival”, the event organized by HServizi and Unica Sport.
An event in which the Tuscan champion retraced the path that took him to the top of the globe, inspiring a generation of young athletes.
What does it feel like when you are in the air on the rings?
“Definitely effort, but also things that maybe your body didn’t think it could do. However, with training and the right preparation you can do things that satisfy you very much. It is a passion that I have therefore cultivated for a long time.”
What was it like to win the Olympics after dreaming of them since you were a child?
“They are such strong emotions that expressing them in words is complicated, because it would almost be reductive. It was probably a liberation because it almost freed me from a burden, a very strong desire that I had.”
A bronze arrived in Athens eight years after the gold in Atlanta. Was it better in the first case or in the second?
“They are two very different emotions, even if they are still two very beautiful podiums. It may seem strange, but from a human point of view, the bronze in Athens is perhaps worth more than the gold in Atlanta because it came after a very arduous, almost bloody test with my body and my head. There I realized that I was a stronger man than I thought and in life a man is stronger than an athlete. For this reason it is a medal that gratifies me a lot.”
There was a disconnect from his generation to the current one. Is it due to the fact that SJ no longer does gymnastics at school?
“It could be that too, even if it is a very complex topic. Physical and sporting activities could clearly be done better in schools and, indeed, it would be necessary. I hope this thing changes sooner or later.”
In your opinion, is there someone like Jury Chechi in Italian gymnastics? Many have compared Yumin Abbadini to her after the bronze at the European Championships in the all around.
“He is an extraordinary boy, he has excellent skills, but I think making comparisons is always unfair and at times wrong both towards me and towards others. Everyone has their own story, it’s clearly nice to have been an example and to have encouraged other kids to do better, but making comparisons is very difficult.”
