What Manuela achieved at Lillehammer
was incredible and perhaps unrepeatable.
I wouldn't have achieved it if I had not believed
since I was a child,
that girls like me who love cross-country skiing,
could achieve great things in sport.
Following Lillehammer,
Manuela has left a historic and indelible mark
as an athlete and as a person closely connected to sport.
Manuela Di Centa is for our nation
and for the world of sport, a legend.
(LEGENDS LIVE ON MANUELA DI CENTA)
My first skis were amazing! I was four years old.
My dad made them.
Since we were little Dad used to make us ski.
It was like drinking water. It was very natural.
As a family, when it snows we go skiing.
The love of skiing grew within us. It is part of us.
Her games were running, doing races,
climbing trees
and doing gymnastics.
She never used to play with dolls.
Manuela was a kid who believed in what she did.
She also participated in running races,
not just skiing competitions.
She has always been strong.
She always helped me to chop the firewood
rather than her older brother, Andrea.
The first competitors have started.
I watched the Innsbruck Olympics
where I saw the Russians skiing and I said,
"Dad, watch the Russians."
They were going round the bends like a snowplough.
"I want to go faster than them
"because I don't want to snowplough."
(OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES SARAJEVO 1984)
My first Olympics, Sarajevo 1984.
It was a great experience,
that's where for the first time
I saw and met great athletes.
I remember in particular Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi.
She won the race in Sarajevo
and she overtook me
and while she went past I said to myself,
there will come a day when I will pass you.
(OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES CALGARY 1988)
Calgary 1988.
I was much better prepared this time
but bad luck comes at the worst time
and just before the Olympics I caught bronchitis.
So my hopes of being able to compete at my best
crumbled little by little, but
I was able to compete in the last race, the 20km freestyle,
and I came sixth.
Coming sixth in an Olympics with zero technical preparation
led me to think I'm on the right track.
(OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES ALBERTVILLE 1992)
I turned up to the Olympics with a big problem,
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which I've always had.
However, my sense of responsibility to my team-mates
in the relay
made me want to go.
(OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES LILLEHAMMER 1994)
In Lillehammer 1994, I said to myself
"Now I'm fit, let's try and do things right."
It wasn't easy to concentrate for all the races,
in fact this period was very intense for me
but my previous experiences taught me a lot.
I studied every bend of that track.
I remember in particular my trainer telling me
in the last kilometre
that's when I had more than a minute advantage
over second place,
he told me, "Now you can enjoy the victory."
However, I told myself, until I pass the finishing line
I can't enjoy the victory.
Only when I saw "Manuela Di Centa, Italy, gold medal,"
did I say, "I've made it."
The 30km was the last race on the programme.
I wanted to express myself in this race in particular
because it used the classical technique
pioneered by Nordic skiers.
To finish five races without making any mistakes
is an incredible feat,
bringing home five medals of which two were gold
is nothing short of amazing.
(OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES NAGANO 1998)
My last Olympics, Nagano, Japan 1998.
Despite the fact that I had won a bronze with my team-mates
this was the Olympics in which
I had planned to say my farewell.
Last medal, last Olympic Games
and the last competition of my sports career.
Everything started from a love of the mountains.
I started climbing with Fabio.
In 2003, we trained to take part in the 50th anniversary
of the first expedition to climb Everest.
She was the first Italian woman
to reach the top of the highest mountain in the world.
I was mostly worried about her safety.
(OLYMPIC GAMES TORINO 2006)
Turin 2006. The Olympics at home, which was a great thing.
These Olympics were very emotional for me
because my brother Giorgio
won two Olympic medals.
That evening my sister was chosen to present the medals.
I was speechless.
We hugged each other
after I presented my little brother the gold medal.
Good morning, children.
I gained a lot as an athlete.
I worked hard but gained a lot from sport.
I felt it was my duty to give something back,
having gained much experience.
My work with the Italian Parliament was intense.
I'm very proud of an idea which I championed
and now has become a reality.
Manuela Di Centa wanted to create high schools
focused on sport in Italy.
All subjects in these schools
are related to sport in some way,
such as sport economics.
I believe that an Olympic champion
has a great responsibility.
The best way to demonstrate this,
especially to young people, is not just through teaching
but also by example.
My future? I see it very simply.
To be myself in everyday life.
To always smile, with my face and with my heart
and to be able to seize beautiful moments.
(LEGENDS LIVE ON)
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