A modern pentathlon success story: Why Italian women are so dominant
Alice Sotero and Elena Micheli hold three of the biggest tiles in their sport and explain how the influence of Italian culture shaped their journey, from their renowned resourcefulness to the central role of the family.
According to an old saying, Italy is known as a nation of poets, saints, and sailors.
Following their recent success in the sport, we can perhaps add 'modern pentathlon athletes' to that list, thanks to the achievements of two women from 'Il Bel Paese' (The Beautiful Country): Alice Sotero and Elena Micheli.
The former, who is part of the Fiamme Azzurre sports group, is currently at the top of the women's world ranking after claiming gold at the European Games in Krakow. The latter, who is a Carabinieri sports group athlete, was the winner of the last World Cup Final in Ankara and is the reigning world champion.
Such a level of dominance is rare to see in the multi-discipline sport, which saw its first official competitions in 1912 and consists of fencing, swimming, equestrian, shooting, and running.
It may not be a coincidence that the ability to juggle many different tasks is ingrained in Italian culture: "In my opinion, Italians are accustomed to living with limited resources, they know how to manage and be pragmatic, while also respecting certain values," explained Micheli to Olympics.com in an exclusive interview with the Italian pair ahead of the UIPM 2023 World Championships.
Sotero finished fourth at Tokyo 2020 in 2021 and has since become a mother. She points to the central role of the family in her country: “I learned from my mum that with the willpower, you can achieve anything. She had to go back to work when I was very little, and that was a lesson that I took with me. My parents taught me how to manage with training, my daughter, travels… That’s truly our Italian way, passed down from generation to generation."
The beauty of a multi-discipline sport
In sport, Italians have traditionally excelled in technical disciplines such as fencing and shooting, as well as in endurance events like swimming and athletics.
To witness two Azzurre shine in a sport that combines these aspects doesn't come as a surprise.
How did they fall in love with it?
“I started as a swimmer, and I did it until I was around 15 years old. But then I started getting very bored with the monotonous training,” admitted Sotero, who is married to two-time Olympian - and 2012 Team world champion - Nicola Benedetti.
“So I tried pentathlon, which included different disciplines as running and shooting. At the beginning, it was quite challenging, but it was fun because I was always doing different things.
“The variation, not having the same day as the other, is the most fascinating part of this sport.”
“It's nice to think that once you're done swimming, you can go shooting or horseback riding, and I believe that change is the essence of the beauty of our sport,” added Micheli, who joined her local sports club, Polisportiva Lazio near Rome, as a teenager along with her two siblings.
Organisation and sacrifice
While variety is the spice of life, training professionally in five different disciplines can prove challenging – especially if you are a mother.
“Since my daughter Ginevra came into my life, it’s basically a chasing after the day,” confessed Sotero to Olympics.com.
“During the summer I need to start my training in running and equestrian very early in the day to avoid the heat. Once I come back home, I help Ginevra with breakfast, then I leave her with the grandparents and in the afternoon I often need to move to another city to practise other two disciplines…
“There are at least three sports a day to train, the travels... it's truly tough, but with the passion and the organisation of the whole family, in the end, the results make up for everything.”
Her teammate Micheli admits that she usually leaves home at 8 in the morning and comes back not before 8pm.
“You need a bit of resourcefulness,” the two-time world medallist said.
“It’s somewhat a life of sacrifices, but which one isn't? I genuinely think that nowadays, both those who study and those who do sports are faced with sacrifices to make. So, our situation requires a bit more organisation and a bit more time.”
Teammates and friends
Alice and Elena are based in two different areas of the peninsula (Northern Piedmont and central Lazio, respectively) and they train separately, but - despite an eight-year age gap - they are united by a strong friendship.
“I've always had difficulties in bonding with my teammates. However, when she joined the team, she was so young and inexperienced that, partly out of tenderness, I opened up to her, also because she's truly an enjoyable person,” 32-year-old Sotero said.
Then she added: “At the beginning, I used to envy her because she had a natural talent for everything, but she has always been someone who earned it. She was a wonderful travel companion in Tokyo, where she made me cry, and more recently, during the European Championships, when we celebrated my qualification for the Olympics [Paris 2024]. So, it's truly a fantastic relationship.”
“I've always admired your tenacity and your conviction,” a touched Micheli replied.
“Ali is the kind of person who, when she wants something, she goes and gets it, doing it with all the conviction and determination that a person can muster. However, she does it in the most respectful way possible.”
The 24-year-old went on to add more praise for her friend:
“She's a wonderful person, so being able to know her 100% makes me proud because it means that she believed in me, in our friendship and in our relationship, and she opened up, and as a result, I opened up as well. And this is the most beautiful and genuine thing that can exist.”
Mission Paris 2024
Sotero and Micheli are now preparing for their second Olympic experience together, after Tokyo.
“The upcoming season is an important one... Probably it’ll be my last season - I don't know! - so I will definitely try to give 100% in all the competitions, just as I've always done so far,” said Sotero, who will be competing at her third Olympics after making her Games debut in 2016.
“For me, the 7th place in Rio was absolutely an immense joy, I didn't expect it. However, the 4th place in Tokyo was a bit hard to accept for me, because I was aiming really high. But I have the opportunity to try again.”
Her teammate also chooses to look forward rather than backward.
“I think I can say that both of us are athletes who need to compete. We need to have hunger, to always put ourselves in the game,” said Micheli.
“My first Olympics didn't go very well for various reasons. However, it was an Olympics that I shared with a person who came in 4th, and she demonstrated that she could at least aspire to reach that level. So this was a great inspiration and motivation for me.”
With Daniele Masala being the sole Italian to have won an Olympic title in modern pentathlon, nearly 40 years ago in Los Angeles, Alice and Elena now have the opportunity to make history by becoming the first women from their country to step on the podium in this discipline at the Games.
Are they ready to pull off the Italian job?
“Now, with the fact that we are two to rely on, there might be a bit more pressure,” admitted Sotero.
“So I hope to arrive mentally as fresh as possible, to have fun as much as possible knowing that we both can perform well.”