Fragility made me stronger. Much stronger. Recognizing my mortality made everything infinitely deeper. Every time I allowed someone to see my limitations, my shortcomings or my pain I became a better person. More patient. More […]
Outdoor
24 posts
Islanders don't think much about the future. Or, at least, they do it in a different way from everyone else. The mainland seems distant, and so does the rest of the world, beyond the ocean, […]
My first memory is always the same. Always the same image that pops in my head. It’s me, as happy as possible, playing sports at the club, just in front of my house. That was […]
Our house was a kind of department store for sports equipment. Kayaks, canoes, balls of all sizes and weights, rollerblades: everywhere you turned there was something related to sport. The paradise of physical activity: a […]
At times, life can be scary. It can bring you in front of the deepest questions, before you even have a full understanding of their meaning. It can force you to think big, way ahead […]
Rugby is a conservative, aristocratic sport. Like boxing. It works with tiers. Crossing the results is never really enough to go forward. It can't be enough, because you have to demonstrate on the field, beating […]
“Niek, if you lose, will you be fine?” I remember my mom asking me that, when I was little, before playing games. Before playing with anything. I was a competitive kid at everything, and if […]
How far I can throw, nobody knows. Maybe I don't know it either, even though I've never had problems dreaming big. Inside those 8.8 pounds there is a density of thoughts, of stories, of past […]
It took me quite some time to understand that in the world there are not only climbers, but also soccer players, volleyball players, basketball players, and so on. For me it was normal to spend […]
"Hey Fanny, would you like to go to the Olympics?” “Ehm... yes. Sure! Why not!?” Here it is! It all started like this, more or less, with one of the simplest and most casual conversations […]
Every place is my happy place, if I can climb it. Walls, rocks, mountains. But also trees, doors and windows. Where I can hold on with my hands and fingers, with my feet and with […]
I don't know what the future holds for me, but I would like it, at least, to make me happy. Happier. Because until today I haven't been happy enough. I’m just beginning to understand it. […]
The village is small, and the people are many. So much so that it’s not even possible to count it. A thousand times a thousand. Then again, a thousand more times. And still It’s not […]
I need to have happiness in my life. I deserve to have it, like everyone else. Athlete or non-athlete. Adult, non-adult, or something in between. The first time I achieved something important, I was 17 […]
At the start line of Tokyo's 400 hurdles, I felt invincible. I was like an old Viking. I was like my ancestors, like my conqueror ancestors. Ready to set sail at sea, for war, for […]
The human brain develops 80% of its volume during the first two years of life, letting your first 24 months on Earth determine much of the character you will have in the future. Everything takes […]
A lot of the memories that I have as a kid are ski racing, but one that I really like was when I was 14, 15 years old: the first time my dad let me […]
One step forward. One step back. Jerk to the side, feint, speed change. The idea starts from afar but then slams straight into someone else's. Like when I was a kid, and they took […]
It's been a long time now, and I don't remember many details from when I was little. Surely, growing up, I was a very active child and this is probably thanks to my brother Jamie. […]
When I walk in the evening of Livigno, avoiding the streets of the center, I need only a few steps in the right direction to find myself completely alone, in total peace. Immersed in the […]
Dad dedicated his whole life to volleyball. Mom, instead, to athletics and, although she did a little bit of everything, her absolute favorite discipline was the high jump. Here: I grew up as the direct […]
Dear Clemens, I know you think you don't have time to waste reading a stupid letter when instead you could be on some meadow scampering around, running, and jumping with your mates. So, you know […]
Everyone says they have a dream. Sophisticated, or simple. Unrealizable at the beginning or perfectly aligned with your own natural talents, the direct consequence of a path that fate has laid under your feet. Dreams […]
I think that my very first memory about motorsport is down at the track while my father was racing. My mom was holding me and I clearly remember the noise and the smell of the […]
