Milan Cortina, Mattarella meets the Italian athletes: 'The first competition is with one's own limits'

"The first competition is with oneself and one's own limits in order to overcome oneself, to improve oneself, and then there is the competition with the other participants". These are the words of the Head of State Sergio Mattarella pronounced during the meeting with the Italian athletes in Milan Cortina at the Olympic Village.

The principle of his speech is that the important thing is to participate. "We hope that there will be many medals," he said, "but what is important is the way you participate, with commitment, giving your all, with loyalty, with respect for others, it is a competition that gives the world a spectacle of extraordinary value, of coexistence, of friendship, of humanity, of seriousness.

After reiterating the pleasure of meeting the athletes, Mattarella recalled that 'for all of you who are here, this is already a great success. To have been selected, to be on the team, to take part in the Olympics is already an extremely important achievement, a genuine, important success. I also assume that you are not fulfilled by this, that you face the competitions with the intention of having more results, more successes, but we must never forget that participation is the first important goal. Then, of course, competing with athletes from all over the world will be exciting, it will also be challenging.

"I make this wish for you. Be aware of what you are about to do, you are, and I wish you the best results. The first result is precisely to participate with everyone else, with the value of sport that sends a message of peace and serenity to the world. Thank you for your commitment, thank you in advance because you certainly honour the tricolour, our flag and our colours. Thank you and good luck'.