Milan, Feb. 5 (LaPresse) – “Be aware of what you are about to do, you are, and I wish you the best possible results. The first achievement is precisely to participate alongside everyone else, with the value of sport sending a message of peace and serenity to the world. Thank you for the commitment you show, and thank you in advance because you will certainly honor the Tricolor, our flag, and our colors.” These are the words of President Sergio Mattarella as he met the athletes at the Olympic Village in Milan.
“It is a great pleasure to meet you. Here we are. You are about to start. Naturally, on the eve of the opening, I cannot fail to remember that for all of you here, this is already a great success. Being selected, being part of the team, taking part in the Olympics is already an achievement of extreme importance, a true and significant success,” added the Head of State.
“I also assume that you are not content with this alone, that you will face the competitions with the intention of achieving further results and successes. But we must never forget that participation is the first important milestone and achievement,” he continued. “Then, of course, the competition with athletes from all over the world will be exciting and stimulating. I believe that each of us, each of you, remembers that the first competition is with yourself, with your own limits, to surpass yourself and improve, and then there is the competition alongside the other participants.”
“We hope for many medals, of course; President Buonfiglio strongly wishes it, and all of us in Italy hope the same. But what is important is the way in which you participate, as has always been the case for our athletes at the Olympics: with commitment, giving your all, with fairness, and respect for others.”
“In a competition that presents to the world a display of extraordinary value, coexistence and friendship, humanity, and seriousness,” he concluded.