Why Antonella Bellutti never gives up

Bellutti, now 51, always felt she would have a career in track and field. She was a promising athlete: the Italian junior record holder in the 100m hurdles, she won seven Italian youth titles. But a knee injury prevented from making her Olympic debut in Barcelona in 1992.

As part of her recuperation, she took up cycling. But she was so taken with the sport that by the time the Atlanta Olympics came around in 1996, she had switched to wheels. And against all expectations, she won the gold medal in the individual pursuit. She won another gold medal at the Sydney Olympics four years later in the women’s points race. Incredibly, Bellutti then changed sport yet again, competing in the women’s bobsleigh at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, finishing in a creditable seventh place.

This is all down to the power of sport, Bellutti says. “Sport allowed me to be myself, it was an open window on the world, giving me so many possibilities that I would have had difficulties to have without sport,” she says.

She says mentoring can be essential to help get young people to stay active. She credits her own initial love of sport to, “A fantastic PE teacher at elementary school, who inspired me to take up physical activity but that most importantly always believed in me, because it is crucial to have someone who believes in your capabilities.”

Over her unlikely career, Bellutti has won 16 Italian titles, breaking the world record for 3,000m on three separate occasions. She has been named as a representative for athletes, served on ministerial commissions on equal opportunities and doping, and was part of the Organizing Committee of the XXVI Winter Universiade. Bellutti has also become an inspirational speaker, taking part in TEDx Trento with a talk entitled ‘The Unknown Limit’.

She is now a #BeActive Ambassador, which she describes as an honour. “#BeActive is also my lifestyle because it was always a very important part of my life. Even now in my job I always try to motivate people to have a healthy and active life,” she says.

Today, Bellutti still goes out: cycling, running, mountain climbing and alpine skiing. “I do loads of sport, without racing but just to have fun,” she says. Sport has always been her faithful companion, the source of countless engaging, exciting and meaningful experiences. And it is why she is so keen to help others to do sport too. “Part of my job at the moment is to encourage people to take care of themselves, because in Western society we always say we don’t have time,” she says. “We need to learn to take time for ourselves, move, eat well and find something that makes you move and makes you happy.”