Injury-free Giorgia Villa on re-discovering the joy of competing: "I feel serene about what I'm doing"
Giorgia Villa has the smile of someone who wants to realise her dream. It's the dream she came so close to realising three years ago, and now she can feel it becoming a possibility once again.
A sprained ankle just days before her trip to Tokyo 2020 in 2021 kept the Italian gymnast out of her first Olympic Games. More injuries then followed, but she didn't give up.
Now, the 21-year-old from Ponte San Pietro has started the Olympic season with renewed enthusiasm. Being part of Italy's competitive squadra azzurra for Paris 2024 is her big goal, but she does't simply want to be there. She wants to enjoy and have fun.
"I really enjoy myself a lot when I'm competing, especially in floor exercise," Villa told Olympics.com during a recent interview at the 'Brixia' training gym in Brescia. "I love it when the audience cheers for me, when I hear the shouts of my teammates, I really enjoy the atmosphere."
However, her journey hasn't been easy: "I had a rather serious problem with my back that unfortunately I’m still dealing with, and precisely because of it, I won't be able to do the all-around anymore, which I did in 2021 before Tokyo."
Despite all the lingering physical issues, the smile on the face of the 21-year-old Italian, who will be competing at the Jesolo International Trophy on 20-21 April, remains.
"Of course, I don't do the things I used to do before. However, for me, doing just a little is enough to have fun," she says.
Injuries and restart: Giorgia Villa's comeback
The run-up to Paris 2024, for Villa, began on the eve of Tokyo 2020. From the ankle injury that forced her to stay home when everything was ready to go.
"Surely, the experience that happened to me before Tokyo made me grow a lot. It was a truly terrible experience. For an athlete, to get injured three days before departure, it was very difficult for me to return to the gym," recalled Villa. "Thanks to my parents, coaches, and teammates, I was able to come back.
"I was younger, I was fine physically at that time and my goal was around the corner," she continued. "But that’s in the past now, Paris is obviously my goal, I am working very hard to be able to be part of the team."
Last October Villa faced more disappointment when a recurring back injury ruled her out from the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
With the new season, however, the three-time Youth Olympic gold medallist can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
In February, she even resumed competing on the floor apparatus during the Serie A stage in Montichiari, an experience she described as "fantastic": "Not being able to perform at your best, and not because of lack of will, but because there's a physical problem that blocks you, it's an extremely difficult thing to overcome," she said. "Obviously, I’ve understood it by now, so I'm trying to move forward. The competitions so far have gone well and I feel ready today.
"For my back, I underwent treatment in December, I had a small procedure that allowed me to feel less pain. It doesn’t solve the problem, of course, but I can train much better and I'm underdoing physiotherapy, I'm trying to manage my work in the gym. I can say today I feel serene about what I'm doing".
Having learned to embrace living with her physical issues, Villa can now look at her future with a fresh perspective: "One thing is certain: I would like to continue doing gymnastics, obviously if my body allows me. However, my goal for now is Paris, and then afterwards, you never know, maybe I'll make it to Los Angeles."
Giorgia Villa: The unity with teammates and her role model Vanessa Ferrari
Everything Giorgia Villa wants to achieve in Paris, she wants to do with the team.
She's been part of the history-making women's team who won bronze at the 2019 World Championships where Italy clinched its first medal after 69 years. Villa also helped the Fate to European gold in 2022 and silver in 2023, in addition to gold at the 2022 Mediterranean Games.
The team has become a group where all the girls are "now like sisters," both in and out of competition, Villa says.
"We are always living together, helping each other through the hard times, and there are many, but especially in the good times, when maybe you win a medal and the emotion is for the whole team. We are coming together so much, especially in the gym," she explains. "When you can work with serenity, you see your teammates doing well, there is a team and a unity that brings you to achieve the goals. We are trying to get to Paris in the best way, it is the right way."
A bond and a cohesion that also transpire during training.
From the youngest to the most experienced, everybody is ready to support their teammates and friends. "Personally, I always try to give my best during the competitions to help the team and also for myself, perhaps to qualify for some individual finals.
"We always give our best and even a tenth more can be enough to win a medal, so I will try to give my all and have fun," Villa said.
The young Italian stars can also look up to an icon of the sport like Vanessa Ferrari: "Training with her is always a huge thrill, she has always been my idol and she is a reference, to this day still. She is a supportive person and I hope to go to Paris with her."
Giorgia Villa dreaming of Paris 2024: "I hope to relive the emotions of the YOG in Buenos Aires"
Stepping on the podium in Paris 2024 would be a double feat for Villa: there are only eight athletes to have won a medal with Italy at both the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
At the 2018 YOG in Buenos Aires she was the absolute star with three golds (women's all-around, vault, and floor exercise) and one silver (uneven bars). Just being at the Bercy Arena in Paris in July would already mean a lot.
"For me, the Olympics is really a dream, I really get goosebumps when I think about it. Being able also to win a medal would be really great. You never know in life, my goal is to be on the team and give my best. What's to come will be all extra excitement."
Inside, however, Villa hopes to relive what she already experienced in Argentina: "The Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires for me was a fantastic experience. My goal was to win the all-around competition, I didn't expect to win so many medals. I came home happy and satisfied with all the work I did."
She enjoyed it so much that she's now looking forward to reliving a similar atmosphere: "The crowd really conveyed an absurd warmth, I didn't expect it, there was so much energy from them despite [that] we were not in Italy," she recalled. "When there's so many people helping you, you are charged up too. I hope in Paris I can relive all those emotions."
Even if her previous experiences suggest some caution ("I'm not saying anything now until I'm on the plane!"), a smile lit up her face at the thought of experiencing the same emotions again: "In Paris, it is definitely more difficult, but never say never, I hope I can do the same thing again, if not better."