Let's talk about Nicola Pintus.
I find myself struggling to say who he is and what he does. He's an athlete, a program director, an idealist who wants to challenge the world of intellectual disability, a brother, a friend, a "father" to twenty-five young people with autism or fragile X syndrome—a condition that can cause mild learning problems or severe intellectual impairment. He calls himself a sports director, but you sense the title confines him.
Years ago, Nicola Pintus and his girlfriend—now wife—Roberta attended a parish group that welcomed young people with disabilities.
In 1984 he enrolled at the Higher Institute of Physical Education and proved himself an elite athlete. During military service, he coached athletes preparing for the Italian Federation of Sports for the Disabled championship.
In 1986, at a gymnasium where he taught, he met Roberto Rubino, an autistic young man whose physical strength he soon discovered. He began training him, running together through Roman parks and stadiums. But Nicola made another discovery: Alberto, a boy who had stopped speaking at age three, began opening up to the world around him and grew more social through this work.
That's where the CHALLENGE began. From the gym to the parks, from parks to longer and more demanding routes, until the decision to enter races. Then his first half-marathon (21 km), then marathons around the world (New York, Boston, Rome), and finally the greatest challenge: taking Alberto to the mountains of the Himalayas.
It is not easy for an autistic person to uproot himself from his familiar environment, to separate from his parents, to endure a long airplane journey and to walk at high, very high altitude in extremely difficult conditions
They train every day, become close friends—almost brothers—and set out for the great expedition. It is not easy for an autistic person to uproot himself from his familiar environment, to separate from his parents, to endure a long airplane journey and to walk at high, very high altitude in extremely difficult conditions. Nothing is certain, nothing can be predicted, but in the end the challenge is won, and for Alberto it is an incredible experience. Alberto becomes the symbol and "mascot" of the Filippide Pilot Project. Two years ago this activity opened to twenty-five young people (twelve between eight and thirteen years old, thirteen older than fourteen).Now many of them travel the world and run various marathons, including the North Pole marathon in 2002, in which six of them participated.
The Filippide Project is overseen directly by the CNR (National Research Council). It is known that athletes naturally experience elevated serotonin levels, a substance that controls aggression and promotes better sleep. In autistic young people, this substance is typically present in insufficient amounts and must be supplied through medications that can have serious side effects. Supporters of the Filippide Project hope that soon the scientific community will investigate whether competitive sport practiced regularly can naturally increase serotonin levels in autistic individuals. But the project is still in its early stages, and research and scientific approval require time. I must admit that Nicola Pintus and his wife Roberta speak about it with tremendous enthusiasm, with deep knowledge, and they are very convincing.
The athletes are trained by experts: psychologists, social workers, program directors, psychotherapists, speech therapists, sports professionals, and above all by many volunteers (the van driver, for example, is Nicola's father-in-law).
They don't just run; they also swim in the afternoon. For now they meet all day on Tuesdays, but they hope that soon the number of days will increase. The City of Rome supports and funds the project. A similar project is underway in Viareggio, and soon a new section will open in Catania.
Each athlete receives a personalized training program, a "suit tailored to fit," as Nicola says. We all have different ways, different paces, and different goals.
They compete in marathons open to everyone, and soon, on March 28 in Rome and April 4 in Milan, we'll be able to meet them and run alongside them.
The way they relate to the young people is very equal; you hear praise, encouragement, and correction: together they form a great group of friends working hard.
Now perhaps you understand my difficulty in defining Nicola Pintus's work.
He's no longer a professional athlete; he's not a program director because he hasn't had the formal training; he's obviously not the brother or father of twenty-five young people; he's not simply a friend because he's the president of the association and deals with nationally prominent figures; he's not just a president or director because he doesn't limit himself to managing but works actively, takes care of the training of his athletes down to walking them to the gate, and treats all his companions on this journey and adventure as friends, caring for them with affection and simplicity.
Nicola Pintus is simply a person who believes in what he does and who believes above all in his young people, to whom he gives kilometers of trust. They seem like a great group of musketeers crying out: One for All and All for One!
by Huberta Pott, Ombre e Luci no. 85, 2004