11Jun 24
Fitri, resignation of six councilors. Molinari: “More respect for athletes”
“Following the resignations of the Federal Councilors Francesco Uberto, Antonella Salemi, Giulio Molinari, Andrea Belgiore, Elisabetta Villa and Maurizio Zurma presented on 7 June 2024 and the consequent forfeiture of the Federal Council, on the basis of the statutory legislation, President Riccardo Giubilei has set the date of the elective assembly for the renewal of offices on Saturday 31 August in Rome. In accordance with the statute, President Riccardo Giubilei remains in office prorogatio for carrying out ordinary business…” . This is what we read on the website of Fitri, the Italian Triathlon Federation. The long wave of the storm that hit the Federation after the technical area's decision to lead to the Paris Games Alice Betto, Verena Steinhauser And Bianca Seregni among women, Gianluca Pozzatti And Alessio Crociani among men with the exclusion of Michele Sarzilla and Ilaria Zane, it doesn't subside. The resignation of six federal councilors is a strong signal that effectively closes one page and opens another which will culminate with new elections at the end of the summer. The feeling is that the storm that followed the summons was the fuse that detonated an already brewing crisis, a discontent that the “case” of the summons brought to light: “It was the classic straw that broke the camel's back – explains Giulio Molinari, Italian champion and Fitri councilor among the athletes who is among the six who have resigned – Yet another demonstration of incorrect communication and poor involvement in decision-making processes”. As an athlete, Molinari obviously makes no concessions about the exclusion of Sarzilla and Zane; “I'm not discussing the technical choice – he immediately specifies – but how our two boys were treated. Behind an athlete there is no rank, there are men and women, there are lives, sacrifices that must be respected. It would have been one thing to tell them at the beginning of the Olympic adventure that they would have to work hard to win a slot but that the place would not be safe, but instead this speech was never made and then they were excluded. In the weeks before the calls we had meetings and meetings, absolutely useless because the decision had already been made. So I felt cheated and decided it couldn't continue.” Molinari puts communication at the center because he knows perfectly well what an Olympic dream that fades means for an athlete: “Of course the Olympics are the dream of every athlete but we must never forget that for us this is work so there is a need for clarity always – he explains – In past years when I competed as an under 23 and as an elite I have always been Alessandro Fabian's gregarious, but the terms were clear and I was free whether to accept or not. The same discussion, given how the matter ended, should have been made to Sarzilla and Zane. But this did not happen”.