After the record-breaking expedition to the Olympics (two golds and one silver, the best record in history), Sardinia also dreams big at the Paralympics, which will be held in Paris from August 28 to September 8.
The Island brings three athletes and a technician , to whom we can add an Italian-Cuban who began his sporting journey right here in Sardinia.
Giovanni Achenza, 53 years old from Ozieri, two bronze medals in the triathlon in Rio and Tokyo, is dreaming big. "He can compete, even if he is no longer very young, the times he is achieving are still podium-worthy ," explains the president of the Italian Federation of Paralympic and Experimental Sports and commissioner of the Regional Committee Sandrino Porru , who recalls. "Each race is a story in itself and it will also be important to evaluate the conditions of the Seine."
Achenza's last notable results were in 2019, gold at the European Championships and bronze at the World Championships. But the past is behind him, and the extraordinary triathlete is aiming straight for the third consecutive Olympic podium.
There is also a Sardinian in sitting volleyball. Sara Desini from Olbia, a spiker born in 1998. Of course, this national team is not the Italian volleyball team of Alessia Orro who returned from Paris with the gold medal, but she will try to do her best. Porru explains: «In Italy we have been practicing the discipline for about ten years, we are improving but there are other national teams to beat. However, we are not far away and we hope to be able to fit in ». At European level, the team is starting to achieve excellent results, first place at the continental championships in Caorle in 2023.
One of the outsiders of wheelchair tennis comes from Bono . It is Luca Arca, first time at the Olympics. «Just being there is a great result – explains Porru –, the qualification issue seemed closed and instead Luca turned everything around in the last match. A real surprise, and he goes to Paris with nothing to lose ».
Among the possible protagonists is also the Italian-Cuban Oney Tapia, discus thrower: he is not Sardinian, but he started his sporting career on the Island after leaving Havana. Before the accident that caused him to lose his sight, he also played baseball in Iglesias.
Finally, the Paracanoe coach Stefano Porcu, Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic "for his constant commitment to raising awareness on the theme of breaking down architectural and social barriers applied to the world of sport".
(Unioneonline/L)