«In competition for my husband who is no longer there. I have always been competitive »- Corriere.it

Nives Fozzer is 91 years old and has a great desire to win. All time. Since she was a child, in Trieste, and in 1936 she sowed all the participants in the “marcialonga” reserved for the members of the intercompany chemists’ Dopolavoro, from piazzale Ippodromo in San Dorligo della Valle. World premiere: it still retains the silver medal, along with the others won over the decades and which no longer counts because they have become so many. «I’m competitive, it’s my nature», she says on the phone, specifying that in 2006 she «had» to abandon the beloved race for knee problems: «Cartilage wear …». Which did not prevent her from dedicating herself to the “launches” with the Nuova Atletica del Friuli Asd. Only last week he dominated the Italian track athletics master championships in Rieti, winning five titles: hammer throw (14.95 meters), discus throw (9.55), javelin (8.24), hammer throw (6.23) and shot put (5.30).

Love for Bruno (and for athletics)

«With my Bruno we have always played sports together, plus he had only played football. When he passed away, on 2 October 2013, I wanted to keep the promise we had made, to continue competing to honor the memory of the other “, he tells and suggests a story in the story, which is not the one we are telling: she and Bruno who get engaged as kids, he who leaves for Australia where she can’t follow him, he who goes to Papua New Guinea and finally, many years later, he who returns. Bruno and Nives get married on June 15, 1985. «You will say that I am stupid, but I still talk to you. In March, for example, while I was on the platform in Viterbo, I found myself with a short hammer handle and I said to him: “Come on Bruno, just a centimeter is enough to beat my partner, help me!”. I looked up at the sky, which was overcast, and a ray of sunshine came into my eye. In the end I beat the rival by six centimeters ».

The bombings in Trieste

Nives joined FIDAL in 1949. Up to that moment she has practiced skating, tennis, scooters, cycling, volleyball and basketball. In between is war. “We were unconscious, we thought he would never touch us until they bombed Trieste. We lived on the top floor and a bombing gutted the roof: the house was no longer accessible, but we stayed with our umbrellas when it rained ». On 7 June 1959 Nives became the first Tridentine athlete to run 400 meters under one minute (59 ”7, still today she is in the ranking of the top 10 women in Friuli-Venezia Giulia for that specialty). Over time, fencing, archery, golf are added. She and Bruno compete together, win together and become the “aces pair” of competitions.

Next stop: Catania

Now that he is gone, Nives wakes up at 9, eggnog for breakfast, first and second courses for both lunch and dinner, lots of meat, little fish, vegetables. He rarely watches TV, apart from the Olympics, if anything he loses some time on the computer, until 2 am (“I’m a bit slow …”). The idea of ​​stopping competing never touches her, even if she pays for the trips and moves on her own. Next important stage in Catania, on 2 October, for the Italian throwing Pentathlon Championship. It is the anniversary of Bruno’s death. He really has to win.