Winter Olympics, here is the San Marino team for Beijing
A little more than ten days after the opening ceremony that will kick off the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, the Biancazzurri delegation presented itself this morning at a press conference, before the expected institutional moment that will see it in front of the Captains Regent for the traditional good luck greeting and handover of the flag.
Athletes are part of it Matteo Gatti and Anna Torsani, the head of mission Gian Luca Gatti, the technician Nicole Valcareggi and the Covid Liaison Officer, a figure introduced by the Tokyo Olympics as a contact person for Covid, Giacomo Dolcini.
“In addition to congratulating Matteo and Anna for the qualification achieved – the president of the Cons Gian Primo Giardi made his debut -, it should be remembered that Alberto Tamagnini has also performed well in recent years, obtaining the qualification score. Unfortunately, however, the regulation allows us to have only one representative per gender. We are going to participate in these Olympics on the wings of enthusiasm after the successes in Tokyo, which I like to define as the great work of San Marino sport. I’m sure it will be an incentive to these guys to dare to the maximum “.
Both white and blue athletes will compete in both giant and special slalom.
“It is the first time, since the new regulation is in force, that we qualify in both specialties at both men’s and women’s levels – commented the head of mission Gian Luca Gatti -. Indeed, technically we qualified with three athletes, since Tamagnini also got the two passes. For us it is a source of great pride. I thank the high-level technical staff of the Kronplatz Racing Center, represented here by Nicole Valcareggi. We are very satisfied with the work done in recent years and thanks also go to honorary president Eraldo Cellarosi, who led the Federation before me for 28 years. If we are here, however, it is above all thanks to the young people and their commitment. If for Matteo, as well as for Alberto Tamagnini, the qualification process was more linear, for Anna it was instead complicated by a bad knee injury that kept her inactive for almost two years. At the beginning of the summer, after a slow recovery, we decided to try to reach the qualification. If for many it might have seemed a difficult result to obtain, due to the numerous unknowns, I was instead certain that Anna could have done it. She is a tenacious girl and she proved it ”.
Finally the coach, Nicole Valcareggi. “We still do not know the competition field – he explained – difficult to make predictions. Once we arrive, we will have time to see the slopes and prepare ourselves as best we can to honor the blue and white colors ”.
The audience is scheduled for the afternoon Captains Regent, preceded by a meeting with the State Secretary for Sport Teodoro Lonfernini. The flag, which their Excellencies will deliver to the delegation, will parade during the opening ceremony of the Games. As for Tokyo, two standard-bearers are expected, an honor that Gatti and Torsani will therefore be able to share.
On Friday the head of mission and the two athletes will leave for Beijing, while the rest of the delegation, which will include the president of the CONS Giardi and the secretary general of Bologna, will leave on 1 February.
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