Aspire in the World Fellows Book - 2023

/110 9TH ASPIRE ACADEMY GLOBAL SUMMIT Athletes must undertake a lot, which youwitnessed up close. You observed the training, the nutrition he consumed, and the dedication he put into his endeavors. Did you have a similar experience of your father being absent, and your mom had to take care of you aswell? Mutaz Barshim: Where the father is the one in the spotlight, I’ve seen two different sides. The man people look up to, the sports figure but when he returns home, he needs to be a dad. He has to consider school and our activities. At the same time, he’s going through a lot as an athlete; there are many things that I’m starting to understand. I don’t think my father would be where he is now without my mother because he used to travel all the time. My mother is the one taking care of us and being there for him. When he comes back home, he still wants to feel like a normal person, experiencing a different life, a place where he can settle down, recharge, and reinvest himself to go out again and perform. I witnessed this at an early age, but I didn’t fully comprehend it until I started living a similar life. Then I understood how crucial it is to have support. Gianmarco Tamberi: It’s different because my father ended his career very early, so he wasn’t an athlete anymore and he was at home. He worked with my mother and took care of me. I would say the most significant lesson I learned from my brother. He was a professional javelin thrower and a bit older than me. I looked at him as someone to challenge and beat. I wanted to be the first in the family. I observed him doing everything with determination, waking up every morning for training and maintaining a healthy diet. I used to wonder, why is he doing this? Then I understood the importance of doing whatever you can to reach a goal. I would say my brother was my role model. Gianmarco Tamberi: My father was also a sportsman, a high jumper in the Olympic games of Moscow. So, it was almost identical for me. As a child, I played with my friends, and my father was the one everyone knew. This fueled my desire to be the same or even better, creating a hunger to achieve something significant.