Our colleague Pamela Novaglio is off to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics where she will compete in the target shooting category for the Italian national team.

2:30 min

The start of the 16th Paralympic Summer Games is just around the corner. This year they will be held in Tokyo from 24 August to 5 September, after having been postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  This year, among the athletes representing the Italian national team - the most numerous ever and with a higher participation of women than men - there will also be our colleague Pamela Novaglio, a specialist in target shooting, who already boasts many successes in her honours, including a world title in the mixed rifle.

 

Originally from Valtrompia (Brescia) and Coordinator of the Polo Condizioni for the Lombardy Region at UniCredit, Pamela is taking part in a Paralympics competition for the fifth time: Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and now Tokyo 2020.

 

We met her just before her departure to find out how she reached such an important milestone and how she is experiencing these days of waiting.

Hi Pamela! It is a real honour to know that a colleague will be participating in the next Paralympics in Tokyo. Can you tell us how your competitive career began and how you are preparing for these Paralympic Games?

 

I have always had a great passion for mountains, snow and skiing in particular. After a serious accident during a giant slalom downhill race that prevented me from continuing speed competitions, I firstly took up cross-country skiing naturally, but also luckily, and subsequently biathlon.
For the past seven years, I have dedicated myself exclusively to shooting, a discipline which fits my work schedule better and which allows me to train close to home.

 

My ambition and competitive spirit have always pushed me to work hard in everything I do, and this is one of the reasons why I have been able to compete in high-level competitions.
 

In the days leading up to my departure for Tokyo, I am finishing my preparation with many hours of daily training, including strength and flexibility exercises and shooting trials. My passion for this sport means that the sacrifices I make don't weigh heavily on me.

How have sports helped you in your daily job?

My experience as a high-level sportswoman, which requires the utmost concentration and technical excellence, has certainly strengthened my reserved nature, consolidating my ambition to improve myself even more in my daily job. I have managed to channel this new strength from taking part in international sporting competitions, and the successes obtained, into my everyday work, tackling it with greater confidence and willpower.

Shooting is a sport in which it is essential to always remain focused and in which attention and precision are the greatest effort. In addition, identifying the target - which is as small as a fly - and finding the exact moment to shoot, exactly when there is no heartbeat, requires training and a lot of patience. All qualities that are also very useful in my daily job in the office.

 

How do you manage to combine work at UniCredit with sport activity and how have your colleagues supported you?

The amount of time I had to train to compete in the biathlon was disproportionate and not compatible with my work. However, thanks to the flexibility and time off granted by the bank, I was able to prepare adequately for the previous winter Paralympics.

Since I started shooting, I have been able to manage my time better, particularly thanks to the close cooperation of my team colleagues who support me by offering the necessary availability so that I can train without compromising the quality of my work. This is a team game that I hope everyone can experience.

 

Speaking of diversity, how is the disability culture changing in the Group and, more generally, in everyday life?

I am pleased to see that a cultural change is taking place thus helping to change the perception of disability, not only in the workplace but also in everyday life. I think it is important to give all diversities a voice, not only to people with disabilities.

For some years now I have been taking part in the working tables organised by UniCredit and the Disability Manager. They give you the opportunity to meet not only people with disabilities, but also able-bodied colleagues who work with people with disabilities, such as parents or coaches, and the message I always like to get across is that there are no limits. Only perseverance and determination, together with the recognition of one's own talent, are essential elements for achieving one's goals.

Thanks also to the technological development and innovative tools made available by the Bank, I now see that colleagues with disabilities are able to perform tasks more suited to their skills, including them more in their professional activities. The digitalisation put at the service of disability amazes me every time and makes me very proud to work for a Group like UniCredit.

 

"Pamela is an example to us all. From her words we learn that passion, together with willpower and tenacity, can make us overcome any limit and reach any goal, even the most ambitious one! Driven by this strong motivation, at UniCredit we strive every day to create a positive and inclusive working environment where everyone can excel and actively contribute to our success," commented Francesca Bonsi Magnoni, Disability Manager, International Social Dialogue, Welfare & People Care, People and Culture at UniCredit.

 

We look forward to seeing you on 30 August at 7pm to follow Pamela in her first competition: good luck! We're all cheering for you 😊

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