Giulia Rizzi: From Freediving to Olympic Gold Medal in Epee

A life in apnea to re-emerge on the golden step of the Olympic podium. The story of Giulia Rizzi from Udine, 35 years old, is a hymn to the ability to resist, even at the cost of holding your breath. Or to learn to use it to give yourself a push and come out when it counts, following the destiny that evidently wanted you on that throne at the right time, at the Olympics. Because the career of Giulia, an Italian épée team gold medalist in Paris, exploded when other athletes began to think about retiring. Also thanks to maestro Roberto Cirillo and coach Dario Chiadò who gave her a great chance at 34 years old.

Giulia, what memories do you have of that victory?

"I was actually very melancholic when it was just over. I should have been really excited, but at 35 you're more thoughtful, you live it differently. Then I went back to where I had lived for six years, at the Grand Palais it was the most beautiful and scenic race we've ever done. Too many emotions, I think I suffered a bit in the individual, I was really very tense. But it had to be like this".

She is a true Udinese.

"Yes, I grew up at Asu Scherma, one of the gyms in Udine, until I was 20. Then I went to Milan, with the master Andrea Candiani, for 5 years. And then I moved to Paris".

For love.

"Also. My partner was part of the French national epee team, when I decided to move I did it for him too. But they have a very different system from ours, he trained in a federal center, while the 'foreigners' have to do it in structures similar to clubs, private, where however they work almost exclusively on fencing. I worked for two or three years with the Colombian national team or with the historic Levavasseur team where great champions have trained".

So what was missing?

"For me, being a professional is not just fencing, it's physical preparation, mental training, a whole series of things that were difficult to put together there."

Did she return to Italy for this reason?

"Life also got involved, my boyfriend and I broke up and this made it easier to come back, let's say. Paris is beautiful, but I had gone there for him and at that point there was nothing left that tied me to that city."

And instead there would have been...

"I came home a year before the Olympics and obviously, in hindsight, it seems like it was destiny. But it wasn't easy at the beginning, at the time I was also out of the Italian team, I also had to qualify for the individual. It was almost a leap into the dark".

It was worth it, for the gold.

"Now I can say yes, but at the time I wasn't so calm. I was helped by the many people who told me: you'll never make it, it's impossible. I'm stubborn, usually when they put a brake on me I can give my best, my pride kicks in. I'm quite competitive."

Did going to Paris for love delay her success? Wouldn't it have been better to find a boyfriend from Livorno, Jesi or Frascati?

"Ah ah. No, I'm not looking for excuses, but I'm sure that everyone has their own different path in sport, in life, in relationships. I arrived late because my path led me to find the balance I needed late. In France I learned a lot and it helped me win later. It simply had to be that way."

You believe in mindfulness. Can you explain what it is?

"When I was in Paris I did a course of mindfulness applied to fencing, with a psychologist. It helps you focus on the present moment, to listen to yourself, for two years I found it very good".

And then what?

"Now I've changed trainer and I train with freediving, the Deep Inside State of Mind method."

Freediving in water?

"Also, but in part you use breathing because it is a very strong vehicle to unlock emotions and perceive how you are, how you are in the present moment. I am followed by a professional, Alessandro Vergendo, who works with his wife Rosarita Gagliardi. He is from Udine, but lives in Dubai, where he works. When he comes back we do full immersion freediving".

What does Giulia Rizzi do off the stage?

"I read lots of books. And I enjoy Friuli, we are small, but we have everything, from the sea to the mountains. It's a small universe."

And he supports Udinese.

"Yes, even though it's hard for me to reconcile fencing and the stadium. But it was really nice when they invited us to the stadium, after the Olympics, and Mara Navarria was there too, who is also from Friuli."

Giulia, this year in Genoa there will be the European Championships in June.

"I'm happy because Genoa is a city close to my heart, it will be special because it's a home game. My goal is to transform expectations into a charge".