Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – "I'm Roberta, this has been a tough year, but, like some plants I've studied, my trunk bends but doesn't break." Roberta Bruni, the Italian pole vault record holder, vented her anger at the Italian Athletics Federation (FIDAL) on social media. The Italian champion recounted her challenging year in a lengthy Instagram post, explaining that she opted for surgery after a series of injuries: "It was a difficult season, conditioned by my lightning-fast recovery in 2025 to be able to go to the World Championships in Tokyo, where I was a finalist just two or three months after a fractured sacrum.
My body took its toll and during the Italian Championships in Florence I suffered a partial detachment of the biceps femoris tendon that required surgery, preventing me from participating in the European Championships in Birmingham."
Bruni continued: “Sad? Yes, but even sadder to discover that despite being part of the national team (ah, the team… but we'll get back to that concept), I wasn't among the select few athletes entitled to medical support in the event of surgery.
Because, in true American style, I'll cure you if you're rich, which in our system applies to super-top athletes! The others can quit! And that's how it would have been if I hadn't had a dad ready to pay 15.000 euros for my surgery. End of the sad story? It may seem like a stubbornness, but sometimes sadness can lead to more sadness."
Bruni then explained that she will not be returning to the national team for the next two-year Olympic cycle, which will conclude with the 2028 Los Angeles Games: "The reason? I didn't meet any of the entry criteria, which I could never have met, having ruptured a tendon at the Italian championships, which I have always honored and even won 12. I'm probably not an athlete of media interest and certainly not a world or Olympic medalist, but I've always done my part, reaching five Diamond League finals, world, Olympic, and European finals, even crowned by national records... but I will never understand the point of investing money and support in the first two years of an Olympic cycle and then, faced with an athlete who has undergone surgery, not investing in the final two years. To be honest, someone invested money for two years and then let their investment die. Because, after all, the AEC system isn't about investing in and supporting an athlete's journey. It's just a reward mechanism for results already achieved. If you achieve them, you're in. You are." you get injured and you don't get them, you're out."
Bruni concluded her message by reiterating a point and returning to the topic of the team: “Let's talk about you, the athlete, to whom the same thing could happen tomorrow. Let's talk about you, the coach, who tomorrow could have one of your athletes in this situation. Let's talk about you, the parent, who for years has made sacrifices to get your child into athletics and, at the worst, maybe you don't have the money to pay for an operation of €15.000, and you'll see that dream suddenly shattered. And then that concept of TEAM, of which I was captain twice, exalted under a photo departing from an airport, with that air of family for journalistic purposes, will suddenly lose value, and you'll realize that you're alone and that the team is actually only in that photo.” Her final thanks go to her sports team: “But a heartfelt thank you to my Carabinieri sports team, who are always ready to lend me a hand, instead of turning their backs on me. I'm grateful for that.”
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