Elisa Di Francisca reached out to Benedetta Pilato and apologized, stating “I owed it to her.” This came after the controversial comments made on live television regarding the swimmer’s reaction to finishing fourth in the 100m breaststroke at the Paris 2024 Olympics. While the Italian Swimming Federation had initially refrained from commenting, it seemed that public apologies were expected given the nature of the mistake. Di Francisca shared, “I do not judge defeats. That phrase was unfortunate, but I am unfiltered. I do not know her story, I did not understand what she meant. I explained over the phone, she shared her perspective. I would like to meet her after the Games.”
“I have not won 200 Olympics, only one, with the final thrust, and some attribute it to luck,” added Di Francisca. “Therefore, no presumption, just a lack of knowledge about Benedetta Pilato’s story and her comment on the fourth-place finish. Everyone expresses their opinion: mine was that, but far from labeling it as a defeat. I have experienced many defeats, I even wrote a book about them.” Di Francisca emphasized that the issue was more about delivery than substance. “I read absurd controversies that, frankly, seem baseless. I am irreverent, unfiltered. What I say, I mean, whether having tea or on TV. Many criticize me, but I do not wear a mask. However, it’s better if they criticize me rather than Pilato.”
“Does it make sense?”. Former fencer Elisa Di Francisca mentioned this during a Rai broadcast, referring to Benedetta Pilato’s statements about being “too happy” with her fourth-place finish in the 100m breaststroke event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, missing out on bronze by just a fraction.
The controversy sparked by Di Francisca’s remarks on social media garnered overwhelming support for the 19-year-old swimmer.
ANSA Agency Paris 2024: swimming, Pilato fourth in the 100m breaststroke – Olympic News 2024 – Ansa.it Irish McSharry snatches bronze from the Italian by a tenth of a second (ANSA) Federica Pellegrini also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Elisa Di Francisca’s comments about Benedetta Pilato on TV. She stated, “I want to say something about Benedetta Pilato’s interview yesterday. Each of us is different, with different dreams and expectations. It’s nice to see, from the outside, gold medals won in seemingly simple ways, which is not the case at all! Sometimes a fourth place, even if by a small margin, is our biggest dream.”
Federica Pellegrini continued, “Because?! Because Benny, in her first Olympics, was eliminated in the heats, and yesterday she entered with the seventh-fastest time. Everyone loves medals, but (I only understood this in my last Olympics) sometimes the journey matters much more! The heavy medals will come, Benny is only 19! Let her dream what she wants.”
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