Ten thousand athletes, all together, in Wuhan. From 18 to 27 October 2019 the city that later became the outbreak of the pandemic had hosted the World Military Games. The first case was officially recognized by China on November 17, but now there are several testimonies from athletes who on those dates, or after returning home, were affected by cough, persistent fever, weakness. The Italian delegation was made up of about 200 people including athletes, technical staff and accompanying managers.

Yesterday on the French Bfmtv website, a transalpine athlete who wanted to remain anonymous said he had fallen ill with the symptoms of coronavirus (fever, breathing difficulties). Today the team wrote about pentathletes Elodie Clouvel and Valentin Belaud ("We were in Wuhan, then we got sick, he missed three days of training, I had problems never before. And when we talked to a military doctor, he told us: I think you have already had it because most of the delegation got sick "), but also in Italy there are blues present in that competition that either in China or on the way home have suffered from the now famous symptoms. 

Matteo Tagliariol, a sword Olympian in Beijing 2008 and summoned for the team event with Paolo Pizzo and Lorenzo Buzzi, tells the story. "When we got to Wuhan, almost all of us got sick. I have had a cough, a lot of cough. Valerio Aspromonte has been in bed almost all the time. Many have had fever, although not very high ". While the Italian delegation won medals, there was nothing about an emergency around, Matteo recalls: “There was someone with a mask, but as I had already seen in the Chinese away games. Nothing more. The only thing is that in the infirmary there were no longer even aspirins, all finished, so much had been the request for medicines for all those who had fallen ill ”. 

The fallout For Tagliariol the worst came on the way home. “For a week I was fine, then I had a very high fever. I am asthmatic, but the problem is mild, and in those days I felt that I was not breathing. I said to Martina (Batini, her partner, blue of the foil): if you see that I am not breathing well, call the hospital ". The illness didn't go away even after an antibiotic cure. “Not even that changed anything, in the end I was sick three weeks, always with a cough, very debilitated. Eventually I recovered and Leo got sick (his son will turn 2 next week), also for three weeks with an impressive cough. We were told that he had bronchospasm, but it didn't even resolve with Ventolin, then Martina got sick too, but more mildly. 

When I started talking about the virus, without any medical skills, I said to myself: then I took it. I'm 37 years old, I'm sporty, I've been really bad compared to my standards ". I said to myself: then I took it. I'm 37 years old, I'm sporty, I've been really bad compared to my standards ". I said to myself: then I took it. I'm 37 years old, I'm sporty, I've been really bad compared to my standards ".