Diana Bacosi: “Winning the Olympics is an emotion that cannot be described in words”

The Olympic champion, born in Città della Pieve, tells us about Paris and her gold medal won in tandem with Gabriele Rossetti. “Gold is always gold. For me it was an honor to win this last medal together with Gabriele”.

The first time we interviewed Diana Bacosi was in 2018; only two years earlier she had won her first gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Now her Olympic medals have become three: the gold in Rio (2016) has been joined by the silver in Tokyo in 2021 and the gold won in Paris this summer in team skeet, in tandem with Gabriele Rossetti.
The Italian clay pigeon shooting athlete (born in Città della Pieve), specialized in skeet – who picked up a rifle for the first time at 14 – boasts a top-level palmarès with medals won at the European and World Championships, in addition to the aforementioned Olympic awards. Awarded three Collari d’Oro (editor’s note: the highest honor from the Italian National Olympic Committee), in recent days she also obtained a second place in the World Cup finals held in India. Diana – appointed Captain of the Army Sports Center in 2023 – does not stop and does not want to stop: «I have certainly set myself a limit. There is a time for everything, but my time has not yet come».

Paris is your third Olympics, after Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. You are now a veteran: do you face them calmly or is it still like the first time?
An Olympics is always an Olympics. It is a competition in itself, with emotions and sensations different from other competitions: it cannot be explained well in words and not even with imagination can you get close.

How do you deal with pre-competition anxiety?
You deal with it through the awareness of having done everything possible and having taken care of every little detail, then obviously there is also a good component of luck.

In fact, you take great care of the details. In the previous interview you told me that to prepare for Rio de Janeiro you had recreated in the training camp the same colors that you would have found there: the color of the track and what would be around it. Did it happen for Paris too?
Paris was an anomalous Olympics. The French Federation did not allow anyone access to the competition field, except for the French shooters. So to prepare we only had a few archive images; only three weeks before the race they allowed us to go and try the fields.

Do you have any superstitious gestures before a race?
I don’t have any in particular (smiles).

Is gold always gold, or does the individual one have more value than the one won in pairs?
Gold is always gold. For me it was an honor to win this last medal together with Gabriele (Rossetti).

Where do you keep the numerous medals?
They have a place all their own… but I can’t say where it is (jokes).

Have you ever thought about quitting? Saying enough?
I have definitely set myself a limit. There is a time for everything, but my time has not yet come.

What is the maximum age to practice this sport?
There is no age limit for my discipline. As long as I dedicate myself with patience, perseverance and passion I will continue to practice this sport.

Do you still live in Rome and train in Umbria?
I live in Rome and train in Rome, but every now and then for competitions or gatherings I return to Umbria.

Can you tell us some curiosities related to the Paris Olympics…
Well, as I already said, it was a particular Olympics. We were a three-hour drive from Paris and we didn’t even have the chance to live in the Olympic village with its beautiful sporting atmosphere. For the rest I don’t have much to say, we were very far away.

In the end, did you find out from a colleague if the cardboard beds were comfortable?
I honestly don’t understand why the cardboard beds caused such a stir. We also had them in Tokyo and I remember that they were very comfortable.

Did you go to Milanello with Gabriele to meet Zlatan Ibrahimovic? (he said so in an interview with the Gazzetta).
Not yet, we are organizing. The dates and mutual appointments often do not coincide. but we will be able to find a solution.

Now Los Angeles awaits you…
After a period of rest, the qualifications for Los Angeles 2028 are already starting. In this case too I will work step by step.