Benedetta Pilato’s words a few days ago during the Olympics, and Elisa Di Francisca’s subsequent comment, sparked a public debate that went far beyond the sporting context and helped bring to light a serious social problem.

Joy after fourth place

Especially the younger ones felt called into question by the words of the former Italian fencer, who at that moment seemed almost to want to humiliate her much younger colleague. Of course, seeing an athlete cry with joy immediately after losing the Olympic podium by a hundredth of a second can be disconcerting. Many, like perhaps Di Francisca herself, will have thought that it was an attempt at self-persuasion. They will have thought that Benedetta Pilato’s disappointment was so strong that it did not allow her to accept reality, leading her to build a fictitious narrative. But is this the case?

We don’t know. No one can get into another person’s head, especially in such unique moments. So we should try not to judge other people’s emotions, even if they don’t match our own or the expected social protocol. In this, Elisa Di Francisca made a big mistake.

But is this enough to justify such a vehement, at times violent, reaction? Why was an out of place outburst able to generate all this anger? Well, Elisa Di Francisca’s words, despite herself, seem to have touched a raw nerve, the nerve of an entire generation of young people who feel constantly put under pressure by the expectations of older generations. Expectations that sometimes become excessive and unrealistic, or rigid, that is, unable to value efforts or tolerate failures.

A stimulus that will extend your career

Obviously Benedetta Pilato would have preferred to win the bronze medal than to come fourth by a hundredth, it’s stupid to say that, but that hundredth for her seems to have meant first of all a validation (“I can compete as well as the others”) and it could even turn into a stimulus that will prolong her career.

Let’s remember Simone Biles, the star of US track and field who withdrew from the team final in Tokyo to protect her mental health and who today happily holds the gold medal in her hands. Her choice was criticized by many at the time, but are we sure that she would be here today if she hadn’t had the strength and courage to stop?

Even Benedetta Pilato at that moment, during the interview by the pool, chose to give priority to her mental health. She chose to value the enormous efforts made and did not allow them to be nullified by a hundredth of a second, even though everyone around her seemed to want to suggest this interpretation. But she resisted and in doing so she also gave us a life lesson, on which we should reflect deeply, because it is not only about our health, but also about the future of our society.