Coming out of the gloom of the Covid-hit delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Italian Para swimmer Simone Barlaam is ready for a much brighter Paris.
His first games were in sport’s isolation, closed by COVID restrictions and having no one to support him in stands; however, his 24-year-old determination only intensified; as he says, it became an "obsession," to the extent of mental health deterioration.
“It was quite a tough period of Covid,” Barlaam said before the beginning of the Para swimming competition in Paris. About my first Paralympic, I think I became paranoid in the best way possible.
I wanted to do everything right; I was afraid of getting COVID, so I isolated myself from all the friends and families. I was compromising these two yet was losing focus on what the whole purpose was—to enjoy what I was doing.
That is the case of Barlaam, who participates in the Tokyo Olympics and won four medals that prepare him for 50m S9, 100m S10 and 400m S9 freestyle, 100m S9 backstroke, and 100m S9 butterfly.
The overcome of difficult times helped him to be on the right track again.
“That time was interesting; I changed a lot,” he added. “I had to work on myself a lot; you need to live sometimes with the toughest roommate, and that is yourself.” I discovered certain parts of my personality I possibly never had any inkling existed.
“That time was interesting; I changed a lot,” he added. “I had to work on myself a lot; you need to live sometimes with the toughest roommate, and that is yourself.” I discovered certain parts of my personality I possibly never had any inkling existed.