CONEGLIANO
The Olympics are getting closer for Alessandra Patelli. From the Sabaudia World Cup he “squeezes” a bronze in the double and, above all, wins the internal competition with the other blue crew. Being the last competition before Tokyo, the message addressed to the technical director Cattaneo is one that counts. The classic paw that could mean the second career Olympics for the 29-year-old from Conegliano. While waiting to know the technical decisions, expected in the coming weeks, Patelli’s “small business” deserves to be underlined. A masterpiece of resilience, of the ability to react to adversity. A lesson for all: never give up. At the moment of difficulty linked to the non-qualification of the four without in Lucerne, he was able to respond, building a new trajectory in a very short time. She dedicated herself to the double with Chiara Ondoli, already a partner in the four without. And, with a few days of testing, he hit the podium in the World Cup, preceding the other Buttignon-Guerra rig (fourth and widely detached: 6’48 “91 against 6’52” 60), which in April was imposed in internal selections. The double was among the boats already qualified for Tokyo from the 2019 World Championships (the Olympic cards are not nominal but related to weapons), it represented the last chance to try to secure the five-circle trip. Patelli did not let it escape, despite the last couple races dating back to 2014… The victory went to the Netherlands over Germany, with Patelli-Ondoli one second behind the silver. «We are happy, more than the medal it was important to precede the other Italian crew», Patelli comments, «We were already in front in the battery, but I was afraid for the final. They have always rowed “as a couple”, I hadn’t done it for years. We have given a signal, it is a good step forward after the unsuccessful four without qualifying ». From 17 June new meeting in Sabaudia: in addition to strengthening the credentials in the double, it is not excluded that Patelli can also try his hand in the four-scull, the most “ambitious” boat in Tokyo. –
Mattia Toffoletto