A Marquis in Rio – August 14, 2016

August 13: a particularly lucky day for the Azzurri Games with two golds that taste of the new and not of newness, those of Gregorio Paltrinieri and Gabriele Rossetti, without forgetting Gabriele Detti’s second bronze medal obtained in the 1500 that will go down in history as those of the tricolor.
“The Italian expedition with this last great result at the end took on really positive aspects even if overall we could have expected more. Certainly, however, to see an American playing second fiddle to ours doesn’t seem real.”
– Greg Paltrinieri is a Carpian,even sports seems to be regulated by the nemesis that gives and takes away, Dorando Petri unlucky hero of the London Marathon a century ago came from Carpi which now gives us the cool of swimming, an expression he often uses to summarize something he likes.
“Gregorio is a simple, genuine guy and comes from a hard-working and tenacious land. To be juxtaposed with a great in the history of the Games must be a privilege and an incentive for him.”
– If there is pefection in a swimming race, has he come close?”
“The race was perfect. Given the entries and the competition Greg was the favorite, but that does not detract from his great feat conducted with a disconcerting lucidity.”
– What is striking about his swim, from what I learned as a deputy of the legendary Aronne Anghileri in my first steps in the Gazzetta, is that he keeps his back high, it may be trivial but it means less friction and then he almost never taps his feet for the push: I would have liked it if Rai had asked a technician or rather a personality for an opinion on this singular technique.
“I am not technical enough to understand certain technical nuances, but one thing is certain: this posture of his helps him a lot, and if he can go so fast it is all thanks to him and his determination to achieve these results. You expect things from RAI that are hard to think about. And if the commentator, Mecarozzi, and if the analyst Luca Sacchi are prepared and competent, those on the sidelines in contact with the athletes are not as well and are reduced to asking obvious questions or annoying the “Divine” who rightly rebelled.”
– Greg the hottie may be a potential No. 1 among the great Italian champions, where would you put him at the moment in your ranking with the Reds, Gallinari, Tamberi and
so on?”
“Paltrinieri is comparable to Tomba. Both from Emilia and super champions in disciplines that have nothing to do with the characteristics of their land. But the super champion is born like that, out of nothing and is not the result of a laboratory.”
– Winning that way is superman-like, but he did not come from space but from grasa Emilia.
“Gregorio is a child of our times. He is a handsome boy , debonair and open is what his peers call cool and he knows he is cool, but he
he does it sympathetically and naturally and he doesn
t make you think about it. He likes basketball and he is a Juventus fan so I like him even more.
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– As a manager of great champions what would you suggest to him to enhance his image without affecting his enviable spontaneity and desire to win for a long time starting with the world record promised in Rio?
“He has to remain what he is. Her magnetism lies precisely in this normalcy of hers. Unfortunately, swimming is not a sport that lends itself to be exploited for commercial purposes and does not justify that inducement that other sports have.Working at it, however, perhaps it is possible to get something interesting out of it as Arnold Palmer had done in golf in the United States. He became a symbol for everyone because he was just a regular guy like everyone else, but his manager was a guy named Mark Mc Cormack.”
– Can he become a potential lost No. 1 among the great Italian champions, and where would you put him at mmento in your ranking with the Reds, Gallinari, Tamberi and so on?
“With Tamberi I would go a little cautious, let him win something. But certainly Greg is to be placed in a short list of supers where the highest is always Alberto Tomba.”
– He professes to be not only a Juve fan but also a fan of Irving and wears a Cavaliers and NBA jersey.
“I have already said that I like him because he is Juventino, but in his neck of the woods almost everyone is. If he likes the NBA it is because of the much time he has spent in the
States, and if he is a big fan of Irving, he is not the only one.”
– Excluding a rivalry between the swimming twins, in fact, Detti from Livorno, another handsome person consecrated by Rio, even dedicated his second bronze medal to him in front of TV so strong is their friendship consolidated in 5 years of life together.
“Really a good story. To have two boys, two potential rivals, so sincerely friends is very nice. They swim, they joke, they suffer together, but
when you look at them you see that there is no envy between them, only friendship. It’s those things that happen rarely and make them themselves more real and more manly. It is a beautiful image.”
– Everyone expected that in the Rai interview with Federica Pellegrini after the relay and at the close of the swimming, they would ask for a judgment on this achievement of Greg the Cool, instead nothing
“I have said before that those who stand on the sidelines doing interviews cannot be more trivial, and when they try not to be they annoy anyone. Federica is not the most sympathetic, but her reaction was more than legitimate. On the other hand, a question regarding Greg would have been more than justified.”
– Regarding the eighth place in the final of the 4×100 mixed relay, Federica did well to emphasize that it had been 24 years since an Italian quartet had gone to the final, this pride makes it clear that she wants a rematch, after all, a subtle rivalry with Greg the hottie could be born, certainly useful for swimming.”
“Pellegrini was right to point out that it was a lifetime since the Italian relay team reached this level, but I don’t think this means a rivalry is brewing with Greg and especially that he has decided to continue.”
– Barelli put the medals around the necks of his stunning 1500 swimmers as president of European swimming, for the president-senator it was a nice
payback in the cold war between him and CONI.
“I have known Paolo Barelli since time immemorial and I consider him a solid sportsman.Undoubtedly he has made mistakes, like everyone else, but he has always shown dedication to his sport of which he was also a leading athlete. I am not familiar with the terms of his private war with CONI and especially with Giovanni(Malagò). Instead, I want to hope that this formidable result of Greg will reduce the distance and foster a reconciliation otherwise it sounds like the story of a popular saying in Pisa”
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– The analyst expertly pointed out that more results were expected from the swimming expedition than the bulk of the team due to missed semifinals and finals by a group of athletes given progress.
“In life and also in sports one must often be content. What Luca Sacchi says is right and the complaint is right. The swimming coach must realize the problem and look for correctives , but above all he must build on the momentum of such a formidable result as the 1,500 sl.”
– Now beyond a country of saints, navigators, popes and caesars we are also a country that in skeet shooting can make war on all powers and conquered with
the mastery of the wise CT Benelli medals unparalleled compared to other sports,compared even to the United States and gave an all-Italian final, the beautiful story of two supermothers and Gabriele Rossetti,this 21-year-old enfant prodige from Buggiano, who in his first Olympics, has
made 16 out of 16 in the semifinals and finals, truly inspiring.
“The great Tuscan tradition of hunting justifies this situation even if it creates many perplexities in me because it is not a real sport, but something that resembles it. The successes, however, in these specialties should not confuse ideas and hide the problems that concern the reform of sports management in Italy. In other words, successes are very welcome and must be framed in the right way.
– Of the swimming day nice surprise of Tamberi’s appearance to congratulate Peltronieri confessing to him that he felt chills as
if he had been the one to win, and then the unexpected tears of Michael Pelps entering the legend with 23 golds, he did not equal the 8 in Beijing but he screwed 1 more than London and lost only one race with a silver, great his swimming but wonderful his maturity that certainly comes from the arrival of the little son who was pooping in the stands in the arms of his beautiful wife.
“Beautiful was the moment when the two boys hugged and congratulated each other. Let’s take it slow though. Tamberi has been very unlucky however he is being peddled by RAI as if he were Carl Lewis. Undoubtedly he has great potential, but let’s not make him what he is not yet. Records are fine , but races are another thing and you have to be able to divine them. As for Phelps in the night came the official news of his retirement, widely expected as I said in recent days. He too has externalized those emotions that we all have and in doing so has increased the carat of his truly enormous character.
– A flash on athletics: you can’t quite tell if in his 100-meter heat Bolt ran economy or got off to a slow start
“I didn’t see Bolt, but he always starts like he’s there by accident. Let’s wait and see.”
– What a crazy day in the basketball qualifiers when there is one round left: in Group B, Spain stops leading Lithuania beating it by
50 points beating Lithuania and Nigeria stopping Croatia’s flight, for the Spaniards though it’s not enough, if they lose on Monday to Argentina they could be
eliminated by Brazil if it beats Nigeria.
“The “Vate” (Valerio Bianchini, nda) is always the Vate and in the case of Spain he got it right when he said that Scariolo’s Spain always starts slow. On the other hand if we call him that a reason must exist!”
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– Zaytsev is a monster in bricks and dunks, the growing blue volleyball match after match beats Brazil for the first time in front of
its audience and by 3-1, is first in its group and for the first time with its terrible Ivan and Osmany Juantorena makes a thought of the medal.
“Undoubtedly the men’s volleyball team is playing very well and the results reward them. I am, however, rather puzzled by these” Italians”
bought or integrated as a result of certain strange and very questionable laws. Making Juantorena or Czar Zaytsev Italian does not convince me and
is certainly not invigorating for the grassroots movement.”
– Another pearl of the organization: postponed for half an hour – without the slightest explanation – the awarding of the American 4×100 mixed relay that was closing the swimming competitions; RAI preannounced of a big surprise for Phelps’ farewell and then of the American ranist’s illness, we lean toward another version would be intervention by the powerful American network that bought the rights of swimming claiming to decide the times of the competitions to pass Phelps in prime time and announce live his withdrawal that in fact took place on Facebook just during that nerve-wracking wait.
“The organization is the result of a pressapochism worthy of this colorful and entertaining country, but full of contradictions. When an organizer allows himself to be influenced by any external factor it denotes his weakness and unprofessionalism. In this regard, I want to tell you a curious episode that gives a better understanding of what the rules mean in Brazil. I personally have a very dear Brazilian friend former good tennis player Felipe Tavares who once he stopped playing was successfully involved in organizing sports events. Felipe had partnered with a former colleague and good tennis player of his, Thomas Koch, and the Company was called Koch-Tavares. After a few years they had consolidated the name and when they thought of organizing something they were thought of. One fine day they quarreled and split up in a very stormy way. What Tavares did, he went to the hospice and found an old man named Koch, gave him some
money and took him as a partner without any rights to the Society. In doing so, the Society continued to be called Koch-Tavares and he continued to do his
his business. You can imagine the wrath of the real Koch, who, however, upon inquiring how this had been possible, was unable to do anything about it. This is a
true fact that says a lot about how things are done over there.”
– A Ukrainian judge was kicked out of fencing over protest by Italians, is it ever possible that in a modern Olympics with such high interests
these things happen?”
“These things have always happened and there is very little you can do when you fall for them. They used to happen a lot in Eastern Europe, and for years they went on with the protection of a few sinister characters. I remember in a Davis Cup final in Prague an umpire, a certain Bobinek, did not call double bounce in a Panatta-Smid match when the ball bounced almost three times to Adriano’s detriment. Then we got Tomas Smid as director of the Italian federal center…”
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– The Japanese before and after the competition bow to the audience, in judo an inkaked Egyptian refused to shake hands with the Israeli
with whom he had lost, perhaps the IOC would agree to insert into the Olympic oath an afterword in which it is assured that politics must stay out of competitions and take exemplary action
“The Japanese did the ‘bow even when at the time of the Kamikaze. I saw the Egyptian one live. Horrible. When something like that happens
like that whoever refuses should be disbarred from the sport, these are things that not even a scullery boy would do.”
– In addition to the public flop in the first week, there are also the many disappointments of Brazilian athletes even in the specialties where they thought they would collect medals.
“The Brazilians are too disorganized to seriously deal with the problems involved in being the hosts. Everything in Brazil seems casual to me, and only the carnival seems not to be.”
– Can tennis continue to be in the Olympic program if Puerto Rican Puig wins the women’s gold and if the biggest names go on the court to lose?”
“That Puig wins the gold medal in the women’s singles represents my “Whatever” today, and not only does it not matter to me, but to no one who has played.”
– Who will win the men’s singles gold medal after Del Potro beats Nadal?”
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“Murray easy.”
– As a marketing expert,just out of trivial curiosity does the shot required by photographers for winners to nibble on the medal have any particular significance, or is it just a fad?
“This habit of nibbling the medal seems to me a vulgar and ugly fashion and that’s it.
– What is original about this Brazilian Olympics that seems so post-modern or retro?
“There is very little that is original. The most beautiful thing is the wide-field view of Rio Bay, which is truly spectacular.”
– Who is the best analyst hired by Rai for the Olympics?
“I haven’t heard them all, but of those I have listened to, I have already given my opinion: Igor Cassina and Luca Sacchi.”
– In this, too, basketball always stands out and managed to leave at home Riccardo Pittis, a titled champion, blue, international, who speaks languages, doesn’t fluff and faff, comments technically impeccably and doesn’t use catch phrases.”
“Once again RAI has distinguished itself by mismanagement of its resources or better than what it could have done. Certainly Riccardo Pittis was better suited than those he brought in, but at the root of it all is that basketball at RAI’s home is poorly experienced and poorly practiced.”
– We are up to 16 medals, including 5 gold, Sprt Illustrated awarded us 5, the Italian prediction was 18 and there is still meat in the fire, let’s figure out in which sports we can still pick up medals in the last week.
“Sport Illustrated definitely did not know all aspects of shooting in all its many variations. Indeed, of major medals we have won few , but for CONI, everything goes. We can still win with men’s volleyball the two water polo, sailboard, beach volleyball and a few other specialties I don’t know about.
– Do you confirm the “who cares?” of the August 13 competitions?
“I’m sure of it now: to Puig’s women’s tennis gold medal.”

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