Riccardo Balestrieri was born with Down Syndrome. Knowing the positive effects that sport would have on Riccardo’s development, his family moved from Naples to the seaside town of Formia where Riccardo would have more opportunities to do sports and to travel safely on his own.
Now when he is not studying at the Vocation School in Tourism and Catering, he is training with Special Olympics. He hopes that his fiancée from Naples will one day become an athlete also.
Riccardo began training with Special Olympics in 2003 competing in athletics, swimming and football events.
“Special Olympics changed my life because now I am now more self-confident, I take good care of my body through sport and I met lots of friends of different ages” says Riccardo. “With my friends I play football, eat pizza, go to the cinema, and sometimes go dancing.
“In 2006 I wanted to start winter sports” continues Riccardo, “but everybody thought “From sand to snow… it is Mission Impossible!” … Yet I proved them wrong: I did well at a number of snowshoeing competitions, and... I competed in the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games! I would like to share with everyone the pride and happiness it gave me to be on the Italian delegation, to travel on the plane. I have improved my life through success but also through the defeats I have had.
“When I was young, my mother told me that my muscles were too soft. Now I showed her that sports made them stronger: I can win competitions in swimming, jumping and running, not only on the tracks but on snow too! ...This is the biggest challenge I won.
However for Riccardo, like most Italian men of his age, his real passion is football and his dream is to one day meet Italian football star Fabio Cannavaro, play football with him and tell him about Special Olympics.