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Athletes
Ilaria
Bianchi
Italy, ITA
Female
Swimming
Biography
Further Personal Information
Date of birth
06 January 1990
Height
170 cm
Residence
Bologna, ITA
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
Italian
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?
She learned to swim at age two in Castel San Pietro, Italy. She began competing at age five.
Why this sport?
Her parents wanted her to try a sport. "It was my mother who took me into the water when I was two years old, mostly because, like every parent, she was afraid that I'd drown in the sea."
Club / Team
GS Fiamme Azzurre [ITA] / Azzurra 91 [ITA]:
Name of coach
Fabrizio Bastelli [personal], ITA
General Interest
Nicknames
Iaia (ilariabianchi.com, 01 Sep 2014)
Hobbies
Motorcycles. (donnaglamour.it, 28 May 2019)
Hero / Idol
US swimmer Michael Phelps. (sportface.it, 31 May 2018)
Injuries
In June 2015 she suffered a shoulder injury that prevented her from training for a month. (swimbiz.it, 14 Jun 2015)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"When I'm not in the water, I want to disconnect completely. So when I leave training it is over and this makes me want to continue swimming. Also, if I had to talk about swimming 24 hours a day, I'd go crazy." (sportface.it, 31 May 2018)
Ambitions
To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (nuoto.com, 28 Dec 2019; oasport.it, 17 Sep 2020)
Other information
MENTAL PREPARATION
She believes that mental preparation is even more important that physical training. "The head accounts for 60% and the physique for 40%. High-level swimming is done with your head. I see very strong athletes who can't get what they're worth into the water, precisely because they lack mental preparation. After so many years, I can distinguish an excellent swimmer from a mediocre one and I am very sorry when I see that mentally the guys are not there. Because of this, they leave all the physical work behind. For me it would be unacceptable, I would not be able to live with the guilt of not believing and not trying. But this is not only for sports, this also applies in life." (nuoto.com, 28 Dec 2019)
TRANSITION TO 200M
In 2017 she began competing in the 200m butterfly, in addition to racing over 50m and 100m. "I realised that 50m is not really for me, it is too fast. Also, 50m and 100m butterfly are becoming more and more challenging and the level is rising noticeably. I realised I could be more competitive swimming the 200m. My first medal came [at the 2017 European Short Course Championships] in Copenhagen. I have to reinvent myself once in a while and this was definitely an opportunity." (nuoto.com, 28 Dec 2019)
She believes that mental preparation is even more important that physical training. "The head accounts for 60% and the physique for 40%. High-level swimming is done with your head. I see very strong athletes who can't get what they're worth into the water, precisely because they lack mental preparation. After so many years, I can distinguish an excellent swimmer from a mediocre one and I am very sorry when I see that mentally the guys are not there. Because of this, they leave all the physical work behind. For me it would be unacceptable, I would not be able to live with the guilt of not believing and not trying. But this is not only for sports, this also applies in life." (nuoto.com, 28 Dec 2019)
TRANSITION TO 200M
In 2017 she began competing in the 200m butterfly, in addition to racing over 50m and 100m. "I realised that 50m is not really for me, it is too fast. Also, 50m and 100m butterfly are becoming more and more challenging and the level is rising noticeably. I realised I could be more competitive swimming the 200m. My first medal came [at the 2017 European Short Course Championships] in Copenhagen. I have to reinvent myself once in a while and this was definitely an opportunity." (nuoto.com, 28 Dec 2019)