Asia D'Amato on learnings from latest injury, inspiration from late father: 'I emerged stronger thanks to gymnastics'
Asia D’Amato has learned in gymnastics that it’s best to be cautious and not take anything for granted:
“It only takes a moment to get hurt, so I am much more careful and focused on what I have to do, even a simple thing that I might have taken for granted before, now I don't. I am very attentive to everything,” the Italian said in a recent interview with Olympics.com at her training gym in Brescia.
Last year in May, the Tokyo 2020 Olympian suffered her second serious injury in the space of just a few months when she tore her ACL and meniscus during a World Cup event in Cairo, Egypt. At that time, she had just recovered from an ankle injury, sustained during the 2022 European Championships.
“The journey is very demanding, very long, and I already knew that since I had already injured myself,” shared the 21-year-old, who returned to competition in February.
“The thing I learned is not to rush because with the ankle, I probably rushed too soon, and when returning to competition, maybe I wanted to protect the ankle and ended up hurting my knee. So, what I learned is not to be in a hurry, to wait for the right time to recover.”
Inspired by Rebeca Andrade during her recovery
While injuries may be part of the sport, stories of recovery can also serve as a source of inspiration, and the case of Rebeca Andrade is a perfect example. The Brazilian star overcame three ACL tears before winning Olympic and world titles:
“Rebeca Andrade is an inspiration to me because she has also faced many tough injuries, and as we see her now, she is stronger than ever," D’Amato revealed. "So, after every fall, you can definitely come back stronger than before.”
Injuries haven’t been the only setback the 2022 European champion has had to face over the past couple of years.
The love for gymnastics and the support of teammates, helped her and twin sister Alice manage the loss of their father, Massimo, in September 2022.
“I emerged stronger thanks to gymnastics because when my father passed away, it was thanks to the gym that I perhaps found an outlet, maybe I had less time to think and I could focus more on what I had to do, and so it's thanks to this that I managed to get through it,” she said.
The Italian added that seeing her father’s strength in facing his illness inspired her: “I believe he was in much worse condition than I was. An injury compared to that, what could it be... And so, his strength helped me a lot.”
The power of the Olympic dream
D’Amato is now taking ‘one competition at a time’ as she aims to return to her best shape and be selected for the Italian team going to Paris this summer:
“What drives me is my dream, the dream of participating in another Olympics,” she said.
And it was this dream that motivated her during these past few months of physio and gruelling training sessions:
“It might seem a bit odd to some people that because of this dream, I was able to overcome all of this. I say that it is possible because experiencing the emotion of an Olympic Games is not given by any other competition. The Olympics have been my childhood dream, the biggest dream of all, so nothing and no one can take it away from me, no obstacle.”
D'Amato has played a crucial role in the recent historic ascent of Italian gymnastics. As the first Italian woman to clinch the European all-around crown since the legendary Vanessa Ferrari achieved the feat in 2007, she was also part of the team that secured a historic bronze at the 2019 Worlds and a continental team title in 2022.
She also experienced the disappointment of just finishing outside the podium at Tokyo 2020, behind a Team GB led by two other twin sisters, Jessica and Jennifer Gadirova, who are currently sidelined with injury.
“Italy can absolutely do well because we have demonstrated it on other occasions as well,” she said. “It's true that other gymnasts from other countries are ahead in their work, but we are also ultimately doing an excellent job. In fact, in these weeks, we are pushing ourselves a lot to arrive there in the best possible shape and give our best to take that medal that we narrowly missed in Tokyo.”
In Paris, Italy will face two powerhouses like People’s Republic of China and the USA in their subdivision: “Surely competing with them gives us the drive and motivation to do well, to see where we stand as well. However, on the other hand, being in the second division, then we have to wait a long time to know if we are qualified for the final or not,” she said about her mixed feelings.
A strong bond with her teammates and twin sister
Asia wasn’t the only Italian gymnast to be affected by injuries over the past few months.
Teammates Giorgia Villa (back injury) and Martina Maggio (heel) also faced setbacks and were forced to skip the last World Championships.
If anything, all the adversities have helped the Italian team to become even closer and grow stronger: “The team has definitely gained something because with injuries, you grow both as a person and as a gymnast, so I really believe that it has taught us a lot and will continue to teach us a lot in the future,” D'Amato said.
She and her teammates have been known as ‘Le Fate’, the Fairies in Italian, and they all share the same fairy-themed tattoo on their forearm: “In my opinion, the strength of our team is unity, because it is thanks to this bond between us that we have managed to achieve great results.”
A complicity and bond that is even stronger with her sister: "You have a piece of your family with you, and anyway, when you need it, you always have it by your side, it helps you, and I believe that it is a very important thing for the life we lead."
Together with her sibling, Asia is ready to take the Italian team to even greater historic achievements.