She is Roman, full of energy and dreams. Let's talk about Valentina Magalotti, that in the last year has managed to reach some crazy goals: will represent Italy in two very important competitions on the scene, the Dubai Championship and the Wodapalooza in Miami.
In the midst of her many commitments, she managed to dedicate some time to us, to do this beautiful interview, where all her love for what she does emerges, showing that really wanting is power!
Hello Vale! What a pleasure to do this interview with you! Can you tell us your background? Besides CrossFit® what else do you do in life?
Hi guys, it's a pleasure for me to do this interview too! As you already know my name is Valentina Magalotti, I am 32 years old, I was born and raised in Rome and I have been a CrossFit athlete for about 6 years.
What else do I do in life ?! Good question! I have a degree in economics and business management, with a master's degree in Sports Management. Let's say that as soon as I approached the world of work I realized that it was difficult to reconcile office work with a sports career.
Being behind a desk was not for me, so I decided to focus on my racing career.
So currently I am an athlete, I manage my box and also another Sports Association of artistic gymnastics for children, which is in Monteverde Sant'Egidio always here in Rome.
And how did your passion for CrossFit® come about?
It was born a little by chance and thanks to my sister Chiara! She did CrossFit® and her coach was Yuri Elena. Once he took me to the garage and I did a practically private lesson ... Let's say it is thanks to them that I discovered competitive CrossFit.
From there it all started, it was love at first sight! I started following the programming by Yuri, the Black Samba, to which we have given a home, opening about 3 years ago CrossFit® Minuses, which is my garage that I manage together with my partner Claudius Crescenzi.
All this commitment of yours is bearing fruit: last year you finished 5th at the Open, this year 2nd and you participated in a Semifinals: the Lowlands Throwdown. How was it?
Yes, I started with the first races in the category scaled to then make the leap as RX. We did all the races that could be done in Italy… then at a certain point the international races took over.
Do you think that the most important experiences I should have had in the years in which there was the pandemic! So nothing, we waited and now the other qualifications have arrived.
As you said, this year I finished 2nd at the Open and managed to enter the Lowlands. What to say? It was tough… I had to deal with my head, which was something I took for granted, let's say.
I believed that, all in all, having a good training behind me I would be ready to face the challenges. But then I realized that you can lose your head and it is also much easier than you think and that obviously it is the athlete's job to try to stay focused and focused; it's just as important as pushing to the last rep.
It was then difficult to make an examination of conscience and having to take note of some things that do not have to do with readiness or physical preparation, but more with one's own mind.
We have also seen you compete in other caliber races such as the French Throwdown, the Madrid Championship (you finished 12th!) And the October Challenge… plus you have qualified for other important races such as Wodapalooza and Dubai. How do you do it all?
Yes, let's say that once the problem has been identified, we try to solve it. I got involved, the French was a great opportunity. Then there was Madrid, a great race, in which I was doing well but then a damn workout ruined everything for me because I finished 44th overall.
Even in that workout I didn't know how to react ... I knew perfectly well that I could finish in the top 5 but I went home 12th, never mind.
Then came the qualifications for the Wodapalooza e Dubai, which overlapped! It was a pretty messed up time actually ...
How did I do it all? I don't know either! It takes a lot of organization and certainly a coach who stands by you and helps you to outline a timeline and the various joints to be able to carry out such projects.
Here, a very important thing is to try not to waste energy, because it's true, online qualifications have no limits and everyone at home can try as many times as they want. But in the end the game is not worth the candle, because they are still demanding workouts and doing the redo several times can be exhausting.
How did the qualifications go for Wodapalooza and Dubai? Did you have any difficulties?
As I said, the qualifications of Wodapalooza and those of Dubai were overlapping, right? So perhaps the biggest difficulty was that… Anyway it was nice to do them, intense eh, but nice because I had the desire to live them and then to find out how it would end.
Maybe one thinks he has made a good score in the workout, but then he has to check what others are doing too, right? Sometimes your "giving your best" may not be enough ...
This time it seems that it was enough! What was it like to find out that I had passed both qualifications and received an invitation to two very important races?
Obviously I can only be very happy! Can't wait to go compete! There is a bit of tension, but it is normal since they are supergare ...
The feeling is that of wanting to do well but also to understand how it will be! In the sense, this will be the first time for me in both Dubai and Miami, so I'm very excited!
Obviously my goal is to give my best, to do the best of what I can do, really!
Many don't know, but can you tell us how it works once you receive the email with the result? Do you have to register for the race and organize the trip yourself? How to do it for the plane ticket / accommodation / food ...
Yes, then you simply receive the invitation for the competition and then you have to follow the procedure: you accept the invitation, you register on the platform and then you have to incur an important cost to enter the competition.
Then you must definitely organize the trip: think about plane tickets and accommodation. I personally prefer the apartment, so I can cook what I need to eat, also considering my important allergies.
In short, you have to try to be as ready as possible for when you get there. It is certainly necessary to do the math from an economic point of view to better organize the pre-race.
We imagine that it is very expensive, in fact, to have to compete in these international competitions, which is why you have created a fundraiser right?
Already! It is definitely onerous ... Also because the registration itself has a considerable cost. So, since I have no sponsors, I decided to create this fundraiser on gofundme.
I must say that I am discovering, with an immense joy that fills my heart, that there are so many people who believe in me! I tell you honestly, I didn't think I could receive so much support from so many different people, including people who don't know me, but also people who know me and who simply want to believe a little more in my work…. This is moving!
So even more I will try to do my best in these two races!
What are your plans for 2023?
After the Wodapalooza the process for the official season begins again. So: Open, SemiFinals and, if all goes well, Games.
This is a little bit what awaits me. Then I plan to do French, Madrid and German again!