06Set 24
From ski jumping to triathlon: when sport is life
Magic of sport, whether Olympic or Paralympic, professional, amateur or whatever else you want it to be. Sport is life. It makes you reborn, it makes you grow, it keeps you out of trouble, it pulls you out of the tunnels that you sometimes get into… There are images that remain. That more than others tell the story of life, the attachment to life, the desire not to give up, to go forward despite everything, as he often repeats Alex Zanardi with what is left…And then there will remain many stories of these Parisian Paralympics, because behind every athlete there is a great story, and that of the high jumper will also remain Lukasz Mamczarz: the images of him clearing the bar after running up on one leg are going around the world. He didn’t win a medal because he came in seventh, but his jump at the Stade de France tells a different story. Amputated above the left knee after a motorcycle accident, the 36-year-old Pole arrives on the platform with two crutches, throws one away to ask for the crowd’s support before starting, then throws the other away too. He wobbles to keep his balance and then on one leg begins the run-up. He jumps 1.77 meters, far from the 1.94 that secured the victory for the American Ezra Frech but her jump tells much more, it tells more than a record, a medal, a victory or a defeat. It tells of life that continues, that despite everything goes forward, reacts, resists, and wins. Which is the same image that our triathlete gave to the world Veronica Yoko Plebani who a few days ago won silver in the paratriathlon by swimming, cycling and running between the Pont Alexandre III and the Esplamade des Invalides. For the 28-year-old from Brescia, sport is life too. She has made it her life since, as a teenager, she was forced to come to terms with a fulminant meningitis that marked her but did not defeat her. And it was enough to listen to her happy at the finish line to understand: “The meaning of this medal is that friendship is everything – she said beaming – my friends have been incredible in the last few years, they supported me so much, they were really hard years but I convinced myself that I could do it… I didn’t think I could do it, I have trouble believing in myself but I learned to believe in it”. Here is the magic of sport, a very powerful medicine of happiness, capable of giving or restoring confidence, courage, hope. Capable of getting you back on your feet or on track, of taking you up there where you would never think. Capable of making you vibrate, excite, live… “I abandoned what didn’t make me feel good – she says – It’s vital to grow, to flourish. And now I’m on an adventure to look for new sports, new activities, new things to try, new experiences. I really want to live…».