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A “SUPERMAN” THAT LOVES THE LAND
ALESSANDRO FABIAN, ITALIAN TRIATHLETE,
TENTH IN THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS
Alessandro Fabian lives in Padova. He has been swimming
since he was 4 years old and he discovered the triathlon
when he was 18. Up to now in this discipline he has won
five Italian titles with the National Italian Triathlon Team,
in addition he boasts a silver medal at the European
championships in 2013 and he came 10th in the 2012
London Olympics. The triathlon is a single sport that
combines
three disciplines: swimming, cycling and
running. Contestants move from one event to another in
sequence. After swimming, in the sea or the lake, they
climb, still wet, onto the saddle and pedal, then they leave
their bikes for the last race on foot. It is called triathlon
and it keeps you in shape like no other sport.
Its origins? It is down to a bet in 1977. On a beach in Hawaii
a group of Marines were arguing about which discipline
was more difficult: to swim around Waikiki Island for
almost 4 Km, to cycle 180 Km around Honolulu or to run
a marathon...
What is the typical day of a professional triathlete?
“I train every day in all three disciplines:
swimming, cycling, running. I never get bored
because I am always concentrating on reaching
my objective, let’s say I’m like a company, that
has the end result as its goal, well I commit
myself in the same way.”
Have you got a staff that follows you?
“Yes for
swimming I have Moreno Daga (Padova Nuoto),
for cycling the coordinator is Sergio Contin,
Norberto Salmaso follows my running and Mario
Maritan helps with my physical preparation.
Enzo Divera is my mental coach and I would like
to debunk what they say about psychologists;
their help enables you to get to know yourself
better and therefore understand how to face
certain situations during a competition, because
there are always surprises.”
What does a triathlete eat?
“I don’t follow any
particular diet, I usually eat carbohydrates at
lunch and proteins in the evening; I drink a lot of
water and try to avoid food that puts my digestion
system under strain.”
Special training?
“I go twice a year to train at
altitude, nearly always at Saint Moritz, which is
at 1800 metres. I stay there for about 3 weeks
which is the minimum necessary to get any
benefit.”
Do you have time to study?
“I am enrolled in
Sports Science and I am at the Carabinieri
Sports Centre.”
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