{"id":10005724,"date":"2019-02-19T16:36:52","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T15:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/?p=10005724"},"modified":"2019-03-15T16:44:04","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T15:44:04","slug":"avola-fencing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/avola-fencing\/","title":{"rendered":"After his gold medal, Giorgio Avola is now waiting for the 2020 Fencing Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Interviewing Olympic medalist Giorgio Avola and his coach Eugenio Migliore<\/h3>\n<p>For\u00a0<strong>Giorgio Avola<\/strong> <span lang=\"EN-US\">\u2013 foil gold medal \u2013 the year 2019 could not start better: \u00a0he got a winner\u2019s spot in Paris and, just a few weeks ago, a gold medal at the men&#8217;s Foil Fencing World Cup in Tokyo. Additionally, he is now ranked 13<sup>th<\/sup>in the \u201cTop 16\u201d of Fencing worldwide. Now his body and mind are projected to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. We met him together with his coach <b>Eugenio Migliore<\/b>, trainer and friend even off the fencing piste<\/span>.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-10005724 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-full'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1f2f5d33-d3ea-4898-b507-0b80318cf8b1.jpg' title=\"\" data-rl_title=\"\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\"><img width=\"960\" height=\"598\" src=\"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1f2f5d33-d3ea-4898-b507-0b80318cf8b1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1f2f5d33-d3ea-4898-b507-0b80318cf8b1.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1f2f5d33-d3ea-4898-b507-0b80318cf8b1-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1f2f5d33-d3ea-4898-b507-0b80318cf8b1-768x478.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/1f2f5d33-d3ea-4898-b507-0b80318cf8b1-450x280.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/295f2157-1ecd-41f9-b72b-d1ba6b4d3989.jpg' title=\"\" data-rl_title=\"\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\"><img width=\"960\" height=\"601\" src=\"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/295f2157-1ecd-41f9-b72b-d1ba6b4d3989.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/295f2157-1ecd-41f9-b72b-d1ba6b4d3989.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/295f2157-1ecd-41f9-b72b-d1ba6b4d3989-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/295f2157-1ecd-41f9-b72b-d1ba6b4d3989-768x481.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/295f2157-1ecd-41f9-b72b-d1ba6b4d3989-450x282.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/295f2157-1ecd-41f9-b72b-d1ba6b4d3989-958x600.jpg 958w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Giorgio, <i><span lang=\"EN-US\">are you ready to start over from the Tokyo Olympics 2020<\/span><\/i>?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>P<span lang=\"EN-US\">aris was a huge trial of strength, but the achieved results give us cause to hope that we can arrive at the Tokyo Olympics with peace of mind. We have a solid team and the conditions are right.\u00a0 The excellent results of our last competitions combined with the right spirit make us hope for the best. However, there will be months of intense work ahead of us now<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><b><i><span lang=\"EN-US\">You are one of the first athletes who won a sport-related scholarship, which allows you to attend Luiss University. How do you cope with these two aspects of your life in the double role as athlete and student<\/span><\/i><\/b>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Giorgio Avola<\/strong>: i<span lang=\"EN-US\">n the sporting world, they define me as an athlete-student, while at University I\u2019m called the student-athlete. While true that I am experiencing a double career, on the other hand I am definitely dedicating more time to Fencing, since I am doing it at highest levels<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10005556\" src=\"http:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/giorgio-avola.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/giorgio-avola.jpg 960w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/giorgio-avola-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/giorgio-avola-768x496.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/giorgio-avola-450x291.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/giorgio-avola-929x600.jpg 929w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><i><span lang=\"EN-US\">We know you are a coffee lover. Do you drink it before a match? And what kind of drink do you prefer<\/span><\/i>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Giorgio Avola<\/strong>: actually,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/store.caffemoak.com\/\">coffee<\/a>\u00a0is like a life partner to me. I can\u2019t do without it. It\u2019s a great help, above all since I started to follow my double career. The morning coffee is an essential ritual and the moka pot is sacrosanct. However, when I\u2019m abroad and it\u2019s difficult to get a good espresso \u2013 I\u2019d do anything not to be without caffeine \u2013 I\u2019m also happy with a filter or long black coffee.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10005558\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10005558\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10005558\" src=\"http:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/migliore1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/migliore1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/migliore1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/migliore1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/migliore1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/migliore1-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/migliore1-900x600.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10005558\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eugenio Migliore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em><strong>Eugenio, <i><span lang=\"EN-US\">how is the Fencing Team of Modica doing<\/span><\/i>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>I believe that the picture of health of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.schermamodica.it\/\">Scherma Modica<\/a>\u00a0can be considered based on the events of the past few weeks. While Giorgio and I were in Tokyo and the Italian Team was winning the gold medal, the Pala Moak (sports arena) in Modica hosted the first International <a href=\"http:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/scherma\/\">Blind Fencing<\/a>Championship: the Paralympic discipline which had an enormous boost to development in Modica and where, for the first time, four European countries confronted each other with common rules.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><i><span lang=\"EN-US\">How does one become a champion<\/span><\/i>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">In order to become a champ, you definitely need to be talented, to have a natural quality from the outset, but also a lot of work and sacrifice is involved. There\u2019s no champion who did not sacrifice hours and hours of his of her life in a training hall<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><i><span lang=\"EN-US\">The advice or a sentence said by your coach that had a positive effect on you and that you hand over to your students, in your role of teacher<\/span><\/i>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">It\u2019s an example rather than a sentence: the determination to achieve your goals and actualize those who seem to be just dreams. In his role of coach, Giorgio Scarso has been a great example to me. Not only because of his training role, but for the way he managed to take the \u201cScherma Modica\u201d to high levels, thanks to his determination and abnegation to work. The message I try to pass on to my students every day? Believe in yourselves to achieve your goals<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10005566\" src=\"http:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/c950d377-e18c-48e0-9bbd-0969516cf739.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1058\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/c950d377-e18c-48e0-9bbd-0969516cf739.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/c950d377-e18c-48e0-9bbd-0969516cf739-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/c950d377-e18c-48e0-9bbd-0969516cf739-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/c950d377-e18c-48e0-9bbd-0969516cf739-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/c950d377-e18c-48e0-9bbd-0969516cf739-450x298.jpg 450w, https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/c950d377-e18c-48e0-9bbd-0969516cf739-907x600.jpg 907w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><strong><i><span lang=\"EN-US\">In sport, the relationship between coach and athlete is essential to determine the results of sports performances. How did you relate to each other and what is the right approach one has to have towards the other<\/span><\/i>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Giorgio Avola<\/strong>: <span lang=\"EN-US\">athlete and coach are the expression, the outcome of teamwork. The twenty-year relationship between Eugenio and I goes beyond Fencing. He\u2019s been my coach \u2013 and also became my life mentor \u2013 since I was around five years old<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eugenio Migliore:<\/strong> <span lang=\"EN-US\">Giorgio was only a child when our trainer-athlete relationship started. Obviously, the way we relate to each other has been changing and evolving. In the last twenty years, we have been facing difficulties and misunderstandings but also experiencing moments of great harmony, as it should be. A coach bears huge responsibility towards his athletes. One of his competences is to adapt to each of them, to their different ages and personalities<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch the video<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/iframe%20src=https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/318237327%20width=640%20height=640%20frameborder=0%20webkitallowfullscreen%20mozallowfullscreen%20allowfullscreen\/iframe\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/318237327\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interviewing Olympic medalist Giorgio Avola and his coach Eugenio Migliore For\u00a0Giorgio Avola \u2013 foil gold medal \u2013 the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":10005545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10005724"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10005724"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10005724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10005726,"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10005724\/revisions\/10005726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10005545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10005724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10005724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesignmoak.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10005724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}