Paralympic Games, Pancalli: “We are looking for an important result. Finally there is attention”

Paralympics, here we go. From this evening, the XVII Summer Games will begin with the opening ceremony, which will see 4400 male and female athletes involved, coming from 185 national committees, in 22 sports, 23 different disciplines and 549 events distributed over the 11 days of the Games, until to September 8th.

From Rome 1960 to Paris 2024

It's been a while since 1948 when the neurologist Ludwig Guttmann he thought of a way to introduce sport as a fundamental part of a rehabilitation process for patients (especially war veterans) with spinal injuries. Guttmann's work inspired the interest of an Italian colleague, Antonio Maglio, which convinced him to organize an edition of the Games in Rome, a few days after the 17th edition of the Olympic Games. Thanks to the synergy of the two doctors, in 1960 went on stage the first Paralympics in Rome of history (recognized as such in 1984 by the International Olympic Committee): with the participation of around 400 athletes from 23 different nations. Since then the Italian national team has conquered 599 medals (167 gold, 202 silver, 230 bronze) until Tokyo 2021.

At Paris 2024 it will therefore be among the best, one of the delegations to beat. But, expectations aside, we took stock before the start of the Games and the competitions Luca Pancalli, president of the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP). 

There are 141 Italian athletes who will participate in the Paris Games. Is it the highest number?

“It is the largest delegation ever, among other things with a substantial balance of athletes (70) and men (71), with 52 debutants and we will be present in 17 of the 22 disciplines foreseen by the Paralympic Games”.

And there has always been an Italian delegation at every edition, from Rome 1960 onwards...

“We have never been absent from any edition of the Games that has been celebrated and this is a sign of great seriousness of how the movement, since its inception, has continued to work regardless of the results of recent years”.

CIP number one: "Great expectations, we are aiming for an important result"

Which however, and I look at the last Paralympics, speak of a record of medals which places us at the top of the world

“The result in Tokyo was the most important and best of all time, with the exception of the first edition of the Games, in 1960, which however is not comparable in terms of the number of athletes present, just 400 (there were 4500 in 2021), and for the countries (23 against 190). From this point of view, the Tokyo result is the greatest of all time."

So are the expectations for Paris 2024 high?

“That's the problem (laughs). The bar has been set so high that expectations are very high. But we are also aware of the difficulty of maintaining such important competitiveness in Paralympic Games like those in Paris which represent, like all other times, continuous evolution and growth throughout the world.

We should be faced with ever-increasing competitiveness in many aspects. It is clear that, fingers crossed as my pathological superstition is known, the hope is to confirm an important result. With the awareness of having done our utmost as a Paralympic Committee, to arrive ready for the appointment. Naturally, it is not our only responsibility, but it is shared with all the federations, with the technical staff, with both civil and state sports groups and the Paralympic Defense group to which our male and female athletes belong. And allow me to also thank the families, who no one ever remembers but as a former athlete I know that behind great champions there are many personal but also family sacrifices."

There have been some steps forward in the media. There is more and more attention and visibility towards Paralympic sport, butyou can give more?

“Yes, it's a crescendo. However, I always look at the glass half full, because we have worked so hard in recent years and the news that Rai2 will be the Paralympic network for the entire period of the Games is proof of this.

That said, there is always something better that can be done. I noticed that in the days accompanying the opening of the Games, in which we will have the honor of having at our side the Head of State Sergio Mattarella, the atmosphere was a little warmer than that reserved for our Olympic colleagues. But it is part of a sowing process that we began twenty years ago: the more culture grows, the more attention grows, but conscious attention and not out of compassion."

Paris Paralympics: Italy with great ambitions, led by Luca Pancalli. Here the president with Manuel Bortuzzo

Does the International Paralympic Committee's campaign according to which athletes "do not participate but compete" go in this direction of cultural change?

" campaign launched by the IPC – of which I am proudly a member of the Governino board – is very important, because the mission of the international Paralympic movement is to bring great athletes to compete and not to participate. We underline the difference because this highlights the essence, the substance of being athletes of the boys and girls who will be in Paris.

Because language and the use of terms are important, through them the cultural revolution is produced which is fundamental for the objectives of the future. From this point of view, the campaign launched is only apparently banal but in reality this is not the case, the substance of being athletes of these boys and girls who will be at the Games alongside their Olympic colleagues is recognized in all its value".

The gender balance in the delegation is also reflected in the two standard-bearers, Mazzone and Sabatini. However, they also represent very different generations of athletes

“Absolutely, that was a very thoughtful choice. When I proposed the names to the Council which then approved them, I justified the choice in this sense. We must account for a meeting between generations. Which is the representation of a movement that recognizes on the one hand the value of history, where we started from and those who - in this case Luca Mazzone, in his sixth Paralympics - honor the blue jersey for a long time, but at the same time meets the projection towards the future, with a very young person Amber Sabatini who made an extraordinary exploit in Tokyo but who is not only the 'present' or the past very close to us, but also the future.

The world of sport lives on the circularity of results but above all on male and female athletes who dream, as I did when I was active, of wearing the blue shirt in the most important context. We want to give the idea of ​​vitality and movement of something that will not stop."

Learn more:

Ambra Sabatini at the Quirinale: “Thank you for thinking of me. I will give everything to live up to it."

Nearly two million tickets were sold. How do you see this great result?

“On this I believe it is necessary to congratulate the organizing committee, chaired by Tony Estanguet, and all those who worked for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Then there have always been and will be errors, but on this to date I recognize that it is a great result because it means having been able to involve the population, having been able to represent the Paralympic event as an important event that France and Paris have the honor and the pride of hosting”.

Never before have the Olympics taught us the value of a fourth place like this year. As a manager but above all as a former athlete, how do you experience what many have seen as a missed medal?

“I've read some stupid controversy about fourth places and, let's be clear, it's an Olympic fourth place! Which for anyone who has been an athlete has enormous value. Then it is obvious that those who qualify and have the numbers to dream of third, second or first place naturally aim for that. But I have always told all the kids who qualify for the Paralympics or important international events that the important thing is to achieve the result that one has personally set for himself knowing that he has done his best, everything he could have done even in previous years . This is a humanistic way of dealing with the result and not necessarily a result that is not a medal should be debased. The value of the Paralympics is indeed sporting, because when we applaud the 69 medals in Tokyo we feel proud like Cip, but we cannot think of debasing other results that are not consequential to a medal. There are disciplines in which already qualifying or reaching the final is much more than one could have expected at the start."

Superstitionally speaking: who should we keep an eye on?

“Without naming names I would definitely say swimming, because already in Tokyo they did an extraordinary job, they continued and three consecutive times they were world champions as a delegation. After that I would say athletics because the image of the Charlie's Angels in Japan has remained iconic (Sabatini, Caironi and Contrafatto tricolor podium in the 100m T63) but they have been joined by extraordinary athletes who were part of the Paralympic delegation.

And then in all disciplines we could have excellent results, I would first tell you where we expect less but it would be inelegant."