PAVIA. The thousand sporting lives of Daila Dameno da Gambolò will be crowned by the role of torch bearer that she will play in Milan. Dameno, 57 years old, paraplegic, in a wheelchair following a road accident, is an archer, former Alpine skier and former Italian swimmer. He participated in three Paralympics: summer Athens 2004 in swimming; in Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010 in alpine skiing, winning a silver and a bronze; summer in Paris in 2024 winning a bronze in archery. Summer and winter with medals, a record that he holds in the company of only the handbiker Francesca Porcellato.
Dameno, comes from an unlucky year.
«In July they operated on the supraspinatus tendon of my left shoulder, the one that helps stabilize the humerus and is necessary for shooting a bow. He was already injured at the Paris Olympics. I started shooting again in mid-December, I don’t know if I will be able to compete in the Italian championships in Lamezia Terme because I am still training with an 18 lb school bow, when in competition I compete with a 40 lb one. I’ll try in the spring, for the first meeting of the Italian national paralympic team to aim for the Europeans. However, the important races are in 2027.”
What did such a long stop entail?
«It was good for me mentally. I started shooting in July 2022 and have never stopped since the Games. The life of an athlete is also made up of injuries but when such serious things happen they make you think. My arms are also my legs, so for a while, I put the athlete aside to think about the person. On the other hand, the bow taught me to be patient, training and sacrifice pay off over time. In two years I have to get my Olympic card back to go to Los Angeles and if I made it once, I can do it again.”
What has changed for the restart?
«Gianni Falzoni is my new coach, for years coach of the Italian national youth Olympic team. I am followed by the national team’s athletic trainer, the physiotherapist and the mental coach. I had to give up the world championship, but now I’m thinking about Los Angeles.”
The role of torchbearer?
«They called me from the Italian Paralympic Committee asking me if I wanted to carry the Olympic torch. I immediately accepted even if at the time I didn’t really realize what it was about. Little by little I realized the importance of the task I was given. For me it’s like winning a medal, putting together all the sacrifices made in my life as an athlete, which began in 2000.”
What does it mean for you?
«A pride to represent my nation. It is the crowning moment of my life as an athlete, where I have won, lost, cried, rejoiced. Among other things, I have wonderful memories of the winter paralympics in Turin, where I won a bronze in the giant slalom and a silver in the slalom. It’s exciting just to talk about it and I will feel even more carrying the torch.” She is in a wheelchair, what will she do?
«I will have to be accompanied because the torch is heavy and I absolutely want to carry it, so I will have to have my carriage pushed by an archer friend. My being a torchbearer also wants to be a sign of inclusion.” —
