International Gymnast - January/February 2009

Enrico, what exactly caused Vanessa’s problems in Beijing? She stopped training from the end of April through June 9. She had to stop training for four months, or take the risk and stop for 40 days. In Beijing we didn’t say anything about it. She did nothing except some bars, but nothing with her legs. On June 9 we had an appointment with the doctor, and on June 10 we started. Two months later we had to compete with the acrobatics. We took the risk and she made the Olympics, but then she has had to stop again for four months.

Enrico
Casella

Was her performance in Beijing impacted only by the Achilles’ injury, or something else? It was just a problem with the tendon. In Stuttgart she had a microfracture in her left foot. Now she has a problem with her right Achilles’ tendon. She never did the double-double (on floor) in training, because it was impossible. When we arrived in Beijing, we saw that the other teams were prepared. The American team was very well prepared. They could do all their routines, no problem, and Shawn (Johnson, U.S.) could do the double-double. That was our situation. It wasn’t important for Vanessa to get seventh, eighth or 11th place. For her, the most important thing was to try. She tried, but she was not ready.

everything. She was a good age and in good shape. In 2007, until 10 days before we left for Stuttgart, her foot was OK.

Then the feet problems started and have been a problem since. If she was in the condition of Aarhus (2006 worlds) or Amsterdam (2007 Europeans), where she made 62 points, she was in a position to be on the medal podium. After Stuttgart she had a rest till December. Then she began again and had the tendon problem. We had a lot of problems. We had to start and stop, start and stop.

What are some of the new skills you plan to introduce this year? We have some elements we have never shown. In 2006, for tactical reasons, it was better not to show them. Then, in 2007, she had the injury. In 2008 she had some new things that were not ready. First, we need to find the gymnast, and then we can speak about the movement.

What was the most frustrating thing about
the situation for you as a coach? 2008 was
very unlucky. In 2005 and 2006 Vanessa won
Besides Vanessa’s injury, why do you think
your team didn’t have more success in

Beijing? We don’t do anything in competition that we haven’t been doing consistently in training. Sometimes you see Ukraine or Belarus trying something in competition that doesn’t look like something they’ve done in training. We don’t do this.

But we couldn’t, because we had (Federica) Macri, who tore her Achilles in February, and she was in Beijing. (Monica) Bergamelli was in her third Olympic Games. (Francesca) Benolli had a problem with her toe in the preparation, and she had to stop ( training for a while), too. (2007 worlds team member Silvia) Zanolo and (2006 world team member Lorena) Cosa were out.

In China and the U.S., if one gymnast is out, you have others. We have nine or 10 gymnasts. We had only three gymnasts without physical problems during the preparation. One was Lia Parolari. She had a good competition. Another was Bergamelli, and the third was Sara Bradascia, who stayed home because she had a low level (of difficulty).

We didn’t have a good competition on the first day. We had one mistake from (Carlotta) Giovannini, one from Parolari, and two from Vanessa. All these mistakes counted, and four mistakes are too much. But for Vanessa and probably Lia, there is one more (Olympics). We were unlucky because we didn’t arrive in the best condition.

How did you keep Vanessa motivated, both of you knowing she wasn’t in condition to challenge for a medal? It was very difficult. We were here (in Brixia) till July 26, and we knew we couldn’t really compete (for a medal). But it’s difficult to stay home when you’re third in the world (2007, when Ferrari was the co-bronze medalist). It’s difficult to stay focused in training, realizing it’s possible to get sixth or seventh place. It’s not so easy for Vanessa. Maybe it would be easy for another gymnast who just wants to make the final, but if you are the world and European champion, it’s difficult to know you cannot compete at your best.

I know that, in Aarhus, (2005 world all-around silver medalist Nastia) Liukin had a foot problem and could do only one apparatus. At the time I think she could have won. (2005 world all-around champion Chellsie) Memmel couldn’t compete in the all-around final, but she could have won. We could stay home and not compete in the Olympic Games, or go and get 11th [laughs] with a mistake. But it wasn’t a program with which Vanessa could have won. The podium is for gymnasts who are very well prepared, so if you aren’t…

Then, how satisfied were you and Vanessa with her final ranking at the Olympics? Just to be in the Olympic Games—sometimes a gymnast will lose this opportunity and never have another chance. Vanessa was happy to be there. She wasn’t a protagonist or in good shape, but I think it was a good thing for her to be there.

Also, it may be important for her mind—to see that, sometimes, you cannot be at the top every time you compete. From 2004 till Stuttgart, she probably won everything—Europeans, worlds, Mediterranean Games. We know that it’s not possible to win every time.

How are you preparing to handle Vanessa going forward? Now she is 18, a difficult age … she’s grown up, so we have to adapt. Plus, the injury. And all of this happened in one year! She’s changed. She’s become a woman. She will need to stay quiet and wait. And if she’s able to understand this, she can work to be, maybe in a year, at the top level again. You have to rebuild, independent of the tendon, because this is not a little injury. You have to wait and repair, plus go to physical therapy.