“I’m Leonardo Fabbri. I’m 26 years old and I have chosen to declare war on mediocrity.” The journey towards Paris 2024 on Italia Team TV continues with an interview featuring the Tuscan athlete, a silver medallist in shot put at the World Championships in Budapest last August. The Italian (photo ANSA) tells his story on CONI’s OTT platform, repeating the lessons learned from his mental coach, a key figure in his growth: “I have learnt the importance of never settling for what you’ve got, of always trying to surpass yourself. I believe in the value of perseverance: you make a lot of mistakes, but mistakes help you grow. And from defeats you always learn something new.” While father Fabio ran the 100 metres, little Leo would lose his toys in the sand of the athletics field: “My dream has always been to be happy”. Today he is the gentle giant of the national team, and at the World Championships in Hungary he reached the highest peak of his career so far: “In Budapest I ran the race of my life. The silver medal gave me a lot of confidence – even more so because it was before the Olympic Games in Paris.” And also because in Tokyo 2020 things did not go as he wished. In Japan Fabbri did not qualify for the final; next year he will try to redeem himself: “The Olympics is the ultimate for a sportsman. I can’t wait to be in France: I want to make up for the disappointment of Tokyo”. For everything else, including his future projects (“After retirement I would like to become a mental coach”), there will be time. From this point onwards, for the next few months there are only the five rings of the Games in his sights.

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