Italian Para swimmer Simone Barlaam is eager for a far better experience in Paris from the shadowy depths of the Covid-enveloped and postponed Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The 24-year-old's focus only strengthened, becoming as he claims, a "obsession," to the harm of his mental health,
despite his first Games being pushed behind closed doors by Covid restrictions and little support in the spectators.
Ahead of the Para swimming events in Paris starting, Barlaam noted, "The Covid period was quite a difficult time." "My first Paralympics started me to get fixated in a negative manner.
"I wanted to do everything right; I cut away all the contacts with friends and family since I was terrified of catching Covid. I was forgetting what was crucial: to enjoy what I was doing, even while I was attempting to do everything precisely.
But Barlaam, who won four medals in Tokyo and will swim in the 50m S9, 100m S10 and 400m S9 freestyle, 100m S9 backstroke and 100m S9 butterfly, utilized the trying circumstances to get himself back on track.
"That period opened my mind; I worked on myself a lot," he said. "I discovered sometimes the toughest roommate you might have to live with is yourself.
I discovered many facets of my personality I had not known I possessed.