“No, I don’t believe it… I don’t believe it…”!
He cries, covers his face and is unable to say anything else. Alice D'Amatowhen the Olympic jury of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games announces that it is she who will conquer the medal gold in the beamsharing the podium with another Italian athlete, Manila Esposito, bronze medalist.
A historic result for the Genoese gymnast who triumphed in the specialty with 14.366, cdue to a mistake by the Martian Simon Biles left the podium, and after having already won silver in the all-around competition in teams.
“I tried not to think about who was in front of me, just to do the exercise as best I could,” he then commented on his race in a press conference after the victory. “I told myself that I had nothing to lose but only to win, I did my best and it doesn't matter,” she added.
Alice doesn't believe it, but she knows one thing: she has an Olympic triumph. she has distant roots, made of talent and sacrifices. He started in the alleys of Genoa, at the age of 7, with the Andrea Doria Gymnastics Society, and continued in Brescia, where he moved at the age of 12 to train in Brixia, led by Enrico Casella, Marco Campodonico and Monique Bergamelli. The latter, who has competed at three Olympic Games as an athlete and two as a coach, competed alongside Vanessa Ferrari, winning European team gold in Volos in 2006.
The successes, injuries and support of her twin Asia
Success came early, in 2015, as did injuries that affected his entire career. First to the knee and then to the ankle, limiting his performances without dulling his talent. Sister Asia's supportwith whom she also shares the tattoo of the Olympic rings behind her back, just below her neck, allows her to overcome any adversity.
Every success achieved by one is dedicated to the other.and vice versa. In these Olympic Games Asia is not in the runningdue to the cruciate ligament rupture suffered in May during the European Championships in Rimini. His Olympic dream is over, but Alice, born in 2003 who prefers the uneven bars as an apparatus and ended up with a gold medal on the beam, he made one for her too. And for their father Massimo, a firefighter, who died in 2022, shortly after watching his two daughters become European team champions in Monaco.
Alice and Asia D'Amato at Tokyo2020 (Getty)
And as befits twins, also Asiahaving learned of Alice's victory, she burst into tears: “I still don't believe it, I burst into tears, as soon as the competition was over I knew she was going to win a medal, because she had done a great beam. I hoped for it and I believed in it, they arrived and I couldn't be happier.” and more proud of her, because after everything we've been through – the injuries, the loss of dad – we managed to move forward and she managed to redeem herself. After the team medal, it's true that she won the individual medal. I'm proud of her and I can't wait to hug her” said Alice's twin, commenting on her sister's gold medal.
Always together Alice and Asia, in joys and adversities. Now too with an Olympic gold medal to share.
Alice D'Alessio with her twin sister Asia (Instagram/damatoalice)
