Swimming, Two Bocconi Sport Athletes at the Criteria Nazionali Youth Competition

There will also be two Bocconi students at the Criteria Nazionali Giovanili championships scheduled in Riccione from March 28th to April 2nd. Lodovico De Ferrari and Matteo Rodella, both enrolled in the first year of the Bachelor in International Economics and Management (BIEM), have in fact registered the time required for entry into the 50 butterfly and 400 medley competitions respectively. 

“I was born in Milan but I lived abroad for a long time for family reasons. In Singapore, where I practiced triathlon, and then in Australia”, says Lodovico De Ferrari. “Since swimming was the discipline I was best at, I chose to dedicate myself to that”. For Matteo Rodella, from Brescia, things went a little differently, but not too differently: “I started various sports, both individual and team sports, and then I opted for swimming, abandoning the rest, given that swimming was already a daily commitment for me in primary school”. 

The fact that Bocconi has a 50-meter swimming pool on campus was an additional reason for both of them to choose it: “I could have opted for a student/athlete career in the United States,” Matteo continues, “but in the end, considering the academic level of the University and the possibility of continuing to train in a top-level facility, I decided to opt for Bocconi. I finish my classes and then I dive into the pool, it's the best. And it's also close to home”. 

Given his background, Lodovico would have had no problem moving to study abroad, perhaps even to Australia, where swimming is a religion: “Since I've been in Milan I've been training with Aquamore at the Bocconi Sport Center, so I already knew and appreciated the environment. The choice was a logical consequence”. Qualifying for the youth championships is important, but the next goal is the Assoluti championships in April. “I train every day, in the pool and the gym, from Monday to Saturday”, says Matteo. “It's hard to balance everything, but for now I manage”. For Lodovico, on the other hand, the time has come to reduce his time in the pool a little, but not too much: “I train with the Bocconi team, so three or four times a week and with a lot of flexibility. I'm lucky enough to be able to reach my potential even if I train a little less than before, because now my priority is my studies”. And on this both agree: studying takes precedence. “In swimming you're either one of the very few, let's say 1%, who can aspire to world and Olympic medals, and then you can think about dedicating yourself body and soul, or, if you're part of the remaining 99%, studying and education must be the priority. Even if”, specifies Matteo Rodella, “there are cases of those who have successfully pursued both, perhaps just slowing down the academic path a little”. At 19 there is still time for some reflection. In the meantime, the boys are enjoying the achievement.

A remarkable result if we consider the constantly increasing number of swimmers and the increasingly high technical level of Italian swimming. As Marco Bonassisa, coach of the Bocconi swimming team, confirms: “De Ferrari and Rodella are our top athletes, and they were the only ones to qualify. This is proof of how difficult it is to achieve such a goal, given that only the best 30 athletes in each event can participate in the Italian championships. Therefore, very fast times are needed and the selection is really fierce”. In Italy in particular, one would say, given the increasingly important results achieved at international level: “The times to qualify for the national championships are among the fastest in Europe. In Lombardy, in particular, the competition is so high that even qualifying for the regional championships is very difficult”, continues Bonassisa. The Bocconi team carries out various activities, from provincial to regional and, of course, the national championships with the top athletes. The overall level is high and the facility is a plus: “Being able to train in a pool like this, just a few minutes from the classrooms, is a great advantage for us”, continues the coach, “as is being able to do physical training in our gym. It's essential for attracting increasingly strong student-athletes and for achieving ambitious goals”.

“When we started with the swimming team at Bocconi three years ago, the 'dream' was to have some of our students qualify for the Italian Absolute Championships,” says Carlo Altomonte, professor of European economic policy at Bocconi and head of Bocconi Sport's Water Sports section, ”a world-class stage usually reserved for professional or near-professional athletes. Today we succeeded, a testament to the work, commitment and dedication of all those who contributed to this extraordinary result.”