Women, athletes and professionals: a turning point in women’s sports, we talk about it with Eloisa Coiro

This year there is one more reason to celebrate March 8, Women’s Day. The reason concerns a momentous change in women’s sports. An amendment inserted into the budget law by the Senate Budget Committee has, in fact, recognized the possibility for female athletes to become professionals even on the contractual front.

This will finally lead to an equalization with their male colleagues and the recognition of protections and guarantees with respect to sports work, as provided for in Law 91 of 1981 for male professional sports. This last norm, however, does not specify what the professional sports working relationships are, leaving this aspect to the sports system. It is, therefore, the individual Federations that indicate which athletes are professionals and are entitled to the protections and guarantees provided by law.

Also for female athletes, the “game” will be played on the field of Federations. In Italy there are only five Federations that provide for professionalism: soccer, basketball, cycling, golf and boxing. Only the golf federation provides for women’s professionalism. They will be the ones who will have to make the real change now, giving athletic work the recognition it deserves.

We talked about this and other issues with Eloisa Coiro, Top Athlete who recently set the Italian record in the women’s 4×400 at the European Athletics Championships.

Let’s start right away with a comment on this fantastic result, obtained in such a particular moment. How did you train to prepare for the race? What additional difficulties did you have to face?

I am very happy with the result obtained at these European Championships. It was a very complicated transfer: we all found ourselves in a bubble, with many swabs and checks to be done, but the team was much more united. This led us to be more optimistic and supportive of each other. I’ve been training consistently – I’ve been back since September, after a summer injury, so I got off to an uphill start. Thanks to the support of my trainer Emilio De Bonis, of my mental coach Lorenzo Marconi, of the Fiamme Azzurre sports group and of my family, I managed to get back on track with excellent results, getting the convocation. There are always difficulties in the career of an athlete but the important thing is to get up stronger and more determined than before.

An established athlete and a model student: in the sports and academic sectors, in your opinion, are there still barriers for women to overcome?

Athletics is a meritocratic sport and that’s one of the aspects I appreciate the most. It is not subject to interpretation, the numbers speak for themselves. In athletics, therefore, there are no barriers, because when we are on the track we are all equal. In the sports sector and in the institutional sector more generally, women are becoming more and more prominent. Just think of Kamala Harris, the ministers of the Draghi government or the new rector of La Sapienza. It’s obvious that there is still work to be done, but my generation is riding an important change. My peers are more sensitive to this issue, respecting women and considering them as equals. I would like to arrive at a future in which we no longer look at gender, but only at the professionalism of the roles held. We have started a beautiful journey against discrimination.

The recent reform of sports will aim to guarantee equal opportunities in sports. What do you think about it?

This is a wonderful goal: it’s another barrier that we have finally knocked down and that I couldn’t believe was still there. As far as I’m concerned, I define myself as a professional who is part of the sports group of the Blue Flames. I train every day like my male colleagues and like many other girls, who are committed to sports and studies, excelling on both fronts. Even at the legal level we are equal and it’s a sign of a change in mentality: men and women are on the same level, equally committed to the same goals.

If you could talk to Eloisa at her first competition, what advice would you give her?

I would tell her to continue to stay calm, because the future is beautiful and she doesn’t have to worry about it. She must enjoy the present and live fully all the unforgettable emotions that sport will give her. I would tell her to keep the naivety of a young girl and to keep having fun. There will be moments of difficulty and fatigue, but with the help of her family and coaches she will overcome them. I would tell her to go forward with determination, head and a lot of heart. To take one more small step each day to become the best version of herself.

We thank Eloisa for the chat about women’s sports and congratulate her again for her beautiful results.