When Stefano Tempesti has arrived at HaBaWaBa International Festival, he was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm not only of the little athletes, but also of coaches and parents. “HaBaWaBa is wonderful – he says -. Seeing children from all over the world having all this passion for waterpolo is amazing. If only I could have played HaBaWaBa when I was a kid…, in Prato, my hometown, only 4 teams used to have a waterpolo team. And it’s really great that kids can walk around in the Villaggio and they can see great champions as Francesco Postiglione, Roberto Calcaterra or Marco D’Altrui: when I was a child I could only dream to meet Igor Milanovic, Max Ferretti or Ratko Rudic.
Tempesti and the players of Nuotatori Genovesi at HaBaWaBa International Festival 2017
Talking about dreaming, Tempesti, 38, still has waterpolo in his mind. After the Olympic bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro he left the Italian Settebello, but he’s still playing in Pro Recco. “As long as Pro Recco will let me play, I’ll be a waterpolo player. I don’t see myself anywhere else. I don’t know how long my career will last, but I have a goal in my mind”. Tempesti is talking about Tokyo 2020 Olympics, that could be his sixth Olympic Games: no Italian team-sport athlete has ever achieved that result. “There are so many things that can prevent that, it’s impossible to say if I’ll be able to be at Tokyo 2020. However the reason why I’m still a waterpolo player it’s that I want to reach that goal”. Tempesti still dreams of the Olympics: after all, he isn’t so different from the little athletes of HaBaWaBa.
