First-act play

Trieste, July 1, 2017 at 9:57am, on the newly inaugurated track two days before the old Grezar Stadium athletics facility, a red paddle stands up in front of the athlete who was leading the track race of the Italian Athletics Championships .

He is Massimo Stano.

Look amazed and disconcerted by the judge who notified him of the disqualification, he takes off his chest number n. 18 and starts towards the locker rooms.

Here begins the path of the ten best months that brought the bearer of the Fiamme Oro from a "non-Italian title" to an unexpected individual bronze in the IAAF World Team Championships (with the addition of team silver), path that ended at the dawn of today (Central European zone) in front of the Taicang Museum.

For some months he had been changed the coach our young athlete from Palo del Colle, Bari and he had also moved from Milan to Rome, where among other things he started a family, to dedicate himself to the care of Patrizio (Patrick for friends) Parcesepe already was coaching Antonella Palmisano and Francesco Fortunato and that he had been the historic coach of Marco De Luca, as well as being also the last coach of Elisa Rigaudo.

A change of life, that of Massimo Stano, probably also of friendships, but, as is well known, friendships are soon cultivated among those who are guided by common interests and goals.

And race walking is one of these common interests, while the goal in progress is that of the Berlin Europeans 2018.

It will not be easy.

But back to Trieste, even to the goal of the Italian title, after the beautiful race that had done in La Coruna on 3.6.2017 in which he had completed the 20km in 1:22:30, touching his personal best. The preliminary remarks were good, but between saying "will win" and the "true victory" there is always the middle of the race. The victory must be won, and does not count only win, but also counts as you win.

Above all, respect for the losers counts in the future.

Second-act play

Rome, March 4, 2018 at 10.40am, the long winter season full of training with the other friends of the Parce Team (Francesco Fortunato and Andrea Agrusti) begins to bear fruit.

On the course of the Terme, where the 2016 edition of the IAAF World Team Championships took place, the Italian title arrives and this time it is the one on the 20km, the most aimed one.

And with the title arrives the personal best of 1:21:02.

Massimo Stano still doesn’t knows that at almost 10,500km away in Huangshan (CHN) the day before a certain Wang Kaihua of two years younger than him wins the selection of China for Taicang 2018 in 1:19:45.

Third-act play

Taicang, May 6, 2018 at 11:00am.

"I was in front of the race and I did not believe it. I looked around, it did not seem true, I was the only European surrounded by Chinese and Japanese ... "

To win, to make dreams come true, we must try and Massimo tried.

Thirty minutes later, on the straightaway that leads to the finish line in front of the Taicang Museum, he would certainly have seen before him that Wang Kaihua who had pulled ahead of him shortly before.

But this time it was only 11" to separate them, while between the time of Huangshan and Rome it was virtually 1:17, an enormity.

Moreover: the today's change of shirt between Fortunato with Arevalo and Stano with Soto, and the signature of the World Champion of London 2017 on them, means in particular the respect for those who today has defeated them.

Ending

All the great coaches always use to say that sooner or later in the march can happen to see a red scoop, and that you are not a real march if you have not suffered a disqualification.

But the disqualifications are used to forge the personality and to fight so that the dream becomes reality.