Who is Vito Dell’Aquila, first Italian medalist in Tokyo 2020

He dreams of gold at the Olympics and then a future as a journalist. Vito Dell’Aquila, in the taekwondo final, is the first medal of Italy at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. At 14.45 Italian, the 20 year old from Mesagne (Brindisi) will challenge the Tunisian Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi. The blue can crown a journey that began in 2008, as he himself tells on the federation website. “I started Taekwondo at 8, in September 2008, I was very shy, so my father who likes martial arts decided to take me to the gym of Maestro Roberto Baglivo, who was / is very well known in Mesagne. Initially it was for me. a game; I used to go to the gym very willingly because I spent the afternoons with my other peers instead of being alone at home studying or getting bored. Then with the first results it became a passion and now I consider Taekwondo as a profession because I work hard to achieve of the results. Obviously all with passion “, says Dell’Aquila. The international debut took place “in Austria in February 2009. I was still a yellow belt. I won the gold medal”. In a career still in its infancy, the best memory is “the cadet world championships in 2014. It was my first international competition as a cadet, beyond the victory, it was an unforgettable experience also on a personal level. cadets, another wonderful memory is certainly the Senior European Championship in Bari, where I won the title in my beloved Puglia, securing the speech of the Olympic Qualification for Tokyo 2020 “. “Since 12 November 2018 I have been in the Carabinieri after passing the competition for athletes. I am part of the CS Carabinieri and I graduated from the Liceo Scientifico ‘E. Ferdinando’ in Mesagne. Now my main goal is the Olympics, but after I intend to enroll in the Faculty of Communication Sciences in Rome. Obviously now the priority is Taekwondo “, he says. Off the platform, a guy like many others, who likes “listening to music, watching movies, TV series, writing, taking pictures, running outdoors and going out with friends”. Dreams? “Winning the Olympics, graduating and maybe becoming a journalist to write about Taekwondo, since in Italy, in my opinion, too little is written. But in general I would like to be an example for the new generations.”