Interview with Sandro Damilano, appeared on "La Stampa" of 21.3.2020 by Paolo Costa.

The road to the Olympics (if and when they will take place) is still far away, but the Chinese walkers followed by Sandro Damilano begin to believe it. Once the coronavirus emergency in the great Asian country has passed, or at least seems to be under control, the group of athletes has returned to their homeland and, in periods free from competitions, has been training regularly for 11 years in Saluzzo under the orders of Damilano, one of the recognized "guru" of the world race walk. An "open" group, with entrances and exits which, thanks to the large number of top-level walkers present in China, has always brought international medals and titles to their homeland.

They are eight the walkers, with six coaches, physiotherapists and doctors, who returned to China last week: a long and adventurous journey, but everything went well. «The athletes - says Sandro Damilano - left Saluzzo last week, when they began to understand that there would be problems with international travel.

After the last training on the Saluzzo roads last Thursday, we managed to find a flight to China, departing from Milan. The journey was far from easy with 52 hours by plane, from Milan to Rome, then Addis Ababa and arrival in China, with subsequent transfer to the Federal Sports Center of Qinhuangdao, a city on the west coast facing Japan.

"Logically, everyone is now in quarantine, but they are also carrying out their training in forced isolation. Yes, they had also asked me to go with them to China, but I couldn't have left my family at the moment. We talk every day and see the progress: each room has a gym and carpet, so you can continue your work without problems".

But will the Olympics be staged this year?

"In my opinion they will not, at least not on that date. We must think about the situation we are experiencing in Europe and here in Italy, where the death toll has been higher than that of China and the emergency continues. Then it is also true that Japan wants to play the Games, and China is also moving in this direction. The boys should go back to their race activity in May, but perhaps even earlier, with the start of the Olympic selections: they are convinced that the Olympics will take place".

As a football coach (two championships won with your Saluzzo) how does Sandro Damilano see the possible restart of activity on the playing fields?

«In my opinion, the amateurs will stand still: it is too late. For professionals it is another matter. They will probably try to resume the championships but, as I see it, you should focus on the Cups, with knock-out rounds until the end, so as to streamline the times: so four games, including the final, could be enough to close in time. Unfortunately, this football is controlled only by money».

Outdoor physical activity in coronavirus times: yes or no?

"You can see a little bit of everything. People who never move from home and suddenly find themselves athletes. But you have to understand that you have to stay home. Then you can also work at home. Some exercises are within everyone's reach, and 100 steps a day are worth more than one run. But right now we just have to think about getting out of the emergency. We are in a period of war: we have come out of the real war, and we will succeed this time too».