“It’s actually a joke”

The World Cup will take place in Tokyo from May 1st to 6th, which will also be the Olympic qualification event. 2 weeks later than planned. Maicol Verzotto from Bolzano is also there in Japan.

In March 2020, the Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year. They are now scheduled to take place from July 23rd to August 8th, 2021. After the postponement over a year ago, Tania Cagnotto ended her successful career and has now become a mother for the second time. Daughter Lisa was born on March 5th. Verzotto didn't think about quitting Maicol Verzotto, on the other hand, wants to fulfill his Olympic dream for the second time after Rio 2016. “I never thought about quitting. A year ago I was 31, now I'm 32. I would have continued until 2022, after all, I've been training for this for a long time," says the captain of the Italian divers.

Verzotto admits that the last year was a special year - with great uncertainty and almost no competitions. The divers were hit harder by Corona than almost any other sport.

“I won’t believe that we’re going to Japan until I’m on the plane.” Maicol Verzotto The World Cup in Tokyo will now take place in the first week of May. “Our flight from Rome via Paris to Tokyo next Monday is booked. I won't believe that we're going to Japan until I'm on the plane. “It’s actually a joke how everything happened, after all it’s about qualifying for the Olympics,” says Verzotto.

Maicol Verzotto with the bronze medal at the Italian Indoor Championships in Trieste at the beginning of March.

When the world association FINA canceled the World Cup on April 1st, it sounded like a bad April Fool's joke. “But it wasn’t anyone,” said Verzotto. The World Cup was postponed by two weeks on April 9th from the originally scheduled date (April 18th to 23rd) and will now take place in Tokyo. 2 weeks later. Tokyo 2021: Verzotto has his doubts “Perfect preparation looks different. “That’s not worthy of an Olympic qualification,” says Verzotto. “First they canceled the World Cup, which is now taking place. They want to go through with the Summer Games at all costs, but I ask myself: How are they going to be ready for the Olympics in 2 months when the World Cup was canceled just a few weeks ago?”

But Verzotto also says that “we have to get all this out of our heads. We are professionals and athletes and we have to prepare as well as possible for a competition. It's a special situation for everyone. That's why I believe that all nations will take part in the World Cup, after all it's all about the starting places at the Olympics.

His younger brother Julian Verzotto is not at the World Cup. “He was not allowed to take part in the Coppa Tokyo in Trieste in February because he belonged to the Carabinieri sports group and one of his teammates tested positive before the competition. Julian was always negative. Okay, he's still young, but that was tough. There is anger there,” says Maicol Verzotto. Verzotto doesn't want to shake again Physically, the 32-year-old is doing well. His big day in Tokyo is Monday, May 3rd. Then the preliminary fight from the tower is on the program. “The goal is to qualify for the semi-finals of the best 18 jumpers in the evening. The semi-finals are also called Olympic qualification. Four years ago at the World Cup in Rio I missed the semi-finals by one point, after which I had to wait for months until June to secure my Olympic ticket.” The man from Bolzano wants to avoid that this time – and not tremble like he did 4 years ago.

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“It’s actually a joke”

There has not been an international diving competition for over a year. This is an extremely difficult situation for Maicol Verzotto & Co.

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