Italy's Ferrari Fueled for Future Challenges
Written by John Crumlish	for International Gymnast Magazine | Wednesday, 19 October 2011 14:22
(12 votes, average 5.00 out of 5)
Despite the ankle sprain that forced her out of the floor exercise final at the recent worlds in Tokyo, 2006 world all-around champion Vanessa Ferrari (Italy) told IG she remains confident in her continued comeback. Pictured: Ferrari and Italian team physiotherapist Salvatore Scintu following her ankle sprain Oct. 16
Despite an injury that forced her to withdraw from the floor exercise final at the recent world gymnastics championships in Tokyo, 2006 world all-around champion Vanessa Ferrari (Italy) told IG she remains confident in her continued comeback from injuries and a growth spurt.
"After surgery on my right ankle (in June 2009) I had a long period of recovery," said Ferrari, who placed 12th all-around in Tokyo. "I changed my body from adolescent to woman, and it was not so easy."
In addition to Ferrari's respectable all-around showing in Tokyo, she qualified for the apparatus final on floor exercise that took place Oct. 16. Ferrari has qualified for the floor final in each of the four world championships in which she has competed.
Enrico Casella, Ferrari's coach, said she slightly injured her left ankle in warm-ups 40 minutes before the Tokyo final began and thereby withdrew.
"Vanessa was performing a simple forward tuck salto on the floor and rebounded to prepare for the combination line when she sprained her left ankle," Casella told IG. "Not a serious injury but enough to stop her and withdrew from the final. All of us are very sorry because, the day before in training, she performed an update of her floor exercise to a 6.2 Start Value, and she received congratulations from (Romanian coach) Octavian Bellu who saw her. I think that, with this new exercise, she can compete for medals."
Casella said he is impressed by Ferrari's commitment to restoring her gymnastics to the level that won her the 2006 world all-around gold medal and a share of the 2007 world all-around bronze medal. He said Ferrari began training again "in a complete manner" after the European championships in Berlin in April, where she finished sixth all-around.
"We had the time to prepare for Tokyo with accuracy," said Casella, who trains Ferrari at Brixia Gymnastics Club near Milan. "We were sure about her performance and we are disappointed only about her (missed) vault in the all-around competition, because she lost the seventh position that was in our expectations. For me it's a real pleasure to work with a gymnast of 21 years with so much enthusiasm and application. This time Vanessa was very unlucky but I think she now is in credit with fate."
Ferrari said she is looking forward to a peak performance at next summer's Olympic Games in London.
"Now with the help of Enrico I find it easier to train, and was great to retry all the skills I made before," she told IG. "For me, now it will be interesting to try something new."
Read complete coverage of the 2011 world championships in the December 2011 issue of International Gymnast magazine. Click here to subscribe at a special discounted rate!
Vanessa Ferrari is featured in the following issues of IG Magazine:
"Refueling Ferrari" - Ferrari/Casella interview (January/February 2009)
2007 World Championships special issue (October 2007)
Ferrari on cover, 2007 European Championships coverage, "10 Questions with Enrico Casella" (June 2007)
2006 World Championships special issue (December 2006)
Ferrari on cover photo collage (November 2006)
Ferrari on cover, 2006 Worlds preview (September 2006)
Italian team on cover, 2006 Europeans coverage (June 2006)
"Driving Force" - Ferrari profile (December 2005)
Karl said:
lots of work ahead
she has lots of hard work ahead of her. Her fitness is lacking and she's not showing up to these major world competitions in good shape which is how you get injured. She also needs to NEVER wear a sleeveless leotard in competition ever again. so tacky and not classy!
Votes: -5
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