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EUROPEAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP: THE ITALIANS CONTINUE TO RIDE THE CREST OF THE WAVE.  That Sydney 2000 might inaugurate a new era for Italian swimming could be expected by quickly glancing at the roll of our triumphant athletes. Rosolino and Fioravanti, the duo that kindled the Italian Olympics in the pool, add up to just over 40 years of age between them. And after dark years, during which the movement in question had not been able to produce any great champions, the time has now come to enjoy a whole series of Italian successes on Australian soil. The European short-course championship in Valencia has reconfirmed this hour of glory, especially for the Neapolitan Rosolino, who has won as many as four golds and is ever more the symbol of a “clean” discipline which, in the midst of so many dirty doping tricks, can offer genuine champions.   Together with the achievements of the Neapolitan champion, we must also mention the silver medal achieved by Fioravanti in the 200 m breaststroke and that achieved by Davide Cassol in the100 m medley. So many medals, 9 altogether, could be an indication of the fact that the athletes who emerged in Sydney are in fact the tip of the iceberg, which has a fairly good base, pointing upwards towards the future. On Spanish soil, only Sweden has done better than us, by winning 10 golds. But for this once it might also be worthwhile to have a look around and discover that on our heels we have Germany, which is historically a breeding ground of excellent swimmers. As it is often said, now comes the difficult part. Because, although it is easy to surprise and emerge from nothing, it is just as true that to reconfirm one’s success often proves a rather hard task.  Without moving far afield, the example of the Italian team, which was recently elected the best of the century, that is the volley team, is emblematic. The triumphs of the Velasco group first, and subsequently of his successor, Anastasi, are the symbol of an amazing continuity for a discipline which has been able to force its way through in total anonymity. Taking a look at the Italian laurels for volleyball over the last decade, there has been a prestigious title every year. Now that also swimming, as well as other sectors, seems to have found charismatic figures, it is up to the movement to try and follow them by responding to the most stimulating option, that of emulation. There is not the slightest doubt as to the fact that Massimiliano Rosolino is a leader. He has recently given a TV interview during which he complained about the weight of popularity in Naples.   That Naples was in need of a national dream to cling to had been quite obvious for some time. So, after the First Division frenzy at the end of the league championship, which was however immediately extinguished by the smarting initial impact under Zeman’s direction, here comes Rosolino to seize and carry the Neapolitan standard in the world thanks to his Olympic golds.  Some have compared him to the great Maradona, if nothing else, because his inexorable whirling arms recalled the impossibility of stopping the Argentinean champion in the  rival team’s goal area.    Max shrugs his shoulders, he says this is only an enormous compliment but he does not feel this responsibility all that much. And it is just as well, taking into account the broad solidity of his dorsopulmonary structure. However, one thing we are sure about. The price of success paid by Maradona cannot even slightly be compared to the price that the Neapolitan athlete may have to pay. Too many deep-rooted values in the manner and in the noble ways of the swimmer, who never misses the opportunity of publicly thanking the incessant support received from his family. Diego, despite his money, glory, a wife and two daughters, is a lonely person who still today continues to be surrounded by dangerous vultures. On the other hand, Rosolino is surrounded by the comfort and tangible closeness of the people who love him and appreciate him, even though a European victory can “only” earn him 40 million gross. From this position, after so many sacrifices, it is unlikely that he may lose contact with reality. It is unlikely that he may bite off more than can be chewed in the name of the almighty god of money. It is also unlikely that his clean face and his first-class engine might fail, and that he may allow himself an overdrive which would prove harmful in the long-run. And, if on one hand, talent and incredible gifts could make up for Diego’s vices, on the other hand the new Neapolitan hero, built up piece by pieces on his own strokes, cannot afford to use other than first-rate fuel. Paolo Ghisoni

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