As Nicolo Martinenghi continues his push as Italy’s new breaststroke king, another Italian breaststroke star, from a generation earlier, continues to struggle with injury.
Fabio Scozzoli, the second-best 100 breaststroker in Italian history (59.05) and former record-holder, shared details of his lingering elbow and arm issues with Italian news site Corsia4. His ongoing struggles have kept him from competing at this week’s Italian Spring Championships, which is one of the last official opportunities to qualify for the Olympics and this summer’s European Championships.
The 32-year old Scozzoli told Corsia4 last week that his elbow and arm problems have persisted since 2017, which he managed for a couple of years with physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication.
“The situation worsened at the Gwangju World Championships [in 2019],” he said. “I felt really bad there. I was hoping to recover after the end of the season, with [a few] weeks off, but when I got back it was even worse.”
“In September 2019 I was in really bad shape and the Olympic season hadn’t even started. I wanted to fix it quickly so I got an elbow injection that made me feel good right away. I trained at full capacity and things were going well, but the effects wore off after six months.”
Scozzoli went on to say he had additional injections in May 2020 and October 2020, hoping to use cortisone shots as a quick-fix until after the Olympics, when he felt more comfortable with further intervention or surgery.
After competing in the 2020 ISL season, though, Scozzoli said he had new pains, and an MRI found swelling on the bone. He consulted a shoulder and arm specialist, who advised a procedure where one’s own plasma is extracted and then re-injected in the problem area to regenerate tissue, but found that there was still terrible pain.
“I was unable to swim until mid-January, then breaststroke hurt terribly. The doctor proposed an operation, but with that comes the possibility of losing 20% of hand strength, which was an unacceptable risk for me.”
Scozzoli started working with another doctor who specializes in focal shockwave therapy, a ‘painful but effective therapy’ that Scozzoli says helped him ‘see the light at the end of the tunnel.’
Since he’d only been in full gym and pool training for a week or so by March, and had only been training his legs prior, Scozzoli decided there was no point in racing at the Spring Championships this week.
“I am taking the time to resolve the problem, I don’t want to rush things and risk getting worse. At the [Spring Champs] there are guys like [Federico] Poggio and [Alessandro] Pinzuti who could qualify for Tokyo, and if so I think it is right. As for me, if progress continues in this way, I believe I can prepare for the Settecolli well. If there is still room for the Olympics, I will play my chances there.”
Scozzoli said there was also a chance that the Italian swimming federation (FIN) could hold a spot for him at Euros, where four athletes per nation can swim. Only two, Martinenghi and Pinzuti, surpassed the Euro cut tonight in Riccione.
“It is a great possibility for which I am very grateful, even if it may be a little early (the European Championships take place in mid-May).
Aside from Euros, Scozzoli also mentioned the ISL as another opportunity to continue competing in the near future.
“I think I still have a few shots in the barrel and I can have my say. I hope my joints are of the same opinion, too.”
Hope he gets better soon all the best! He’s been so consistent for so long it would be weird not seeing him compete!
On a semi-related Note, Siobhan-Marie O’Connor hasn’t entered any events into the british Olympic qualification meet – i thought this meant she had retired, but she has just put up an Instagram story of a package Speedo sent her of racing suits. Does anyone have any information on her situation?
Wait where’s the entry list for that?
You can see all the entries through the british swimming event page.
Genuinely can’t see it…link?
Maybe the insta story is just to fulfil contractual obligations?