Marco Lodadio has already been a bronze medalist on rings but he didn’t have European medals on the event last week. In the rings final at the European championships, he scored the same as Denis Abliazin but lost the tie-breaker and placed second, as the result. Lodadio said that it’s an honor for him to continue the tradition of the famous Italian Lord of the Rings, Jury Chechi:
“I knew that I could medal here. I’m very happy because this time I won a medal with my coach present: we used to think that he was a bad luck charm, but obviously, that is not the case. After I won bronze at Worlds I met Francesco Totti. Now, I expect to meet the entire AS Roma team for dinner! All jokes aside, I am very happy with my result, I think it is the best way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Italian Gymnastics Federation. I would like to thank my teammates from Vigna di Valle, my team at Ginnastica Civitavecchia and the President, Pierluigi Miranda, as well as my coach, Gigi Rocchini, my parents and my girlfriend. I am proud to be considered one of the “Lords of the Rings” and to continue in this great Italian tradition started by the amazing Jury Chechi.”
“My personal result was great, but the most important thing is the entire MAG team is working really hard to return to its former level. My teammates and I are working towards a dream that we’ll continue to chase at Worlds in Stuttgart, which is obviously to qualify for Tokyo 2020. Personally, I feel like my routines are improving, because here I have gotten a better score compared to last year’s World Championships. Doing well in Doha helped me, it made me more mature and more focused. For now, I have won bronze at Worlds and silver at Euros: I’ll keep working so I can get that gold at the right time.”
Lodadio’s coach, Gigi Rocchini, expects even better results from his pupil in the future:
“This result took 4 years of hard work, which was made possible by the Ginnastica Civitavecchia club and its President, Pierluigi Miranda. It has been a long road, but it has also given us some amazing memories and results. It did not happen because of luck, but because of hard work. The field here was pretty deep, although it did lack the reigning Olympic champion, but it was a great way for Marco to prove his worth. We’ll continue to work hard to perfect his routines in the coming months.”
Translation from Italian – Gaia B for Gymnovosti.
Video interviews in Italian are posted on Federazion Ginnastica d’Italia.
Photo: Federazione Ginnastica d’Italia.
