2007 Winter Universiade: Olympic and Universiade Champion Captains la "Squadra Azzura"
January 5th, 2007
Enrico Fabris (centre) on the medal podium of the Men's 5000 m long track speed skating at the 2005 WU in Innsbruck
A great team to aim as high as possible. Eighteen days before the first competitions, the Italian athletes are arousing growing expectations as the home team of this 23rd edition of the Winter Universiade. Clearly the advantage of playing in front of their own public quite “naturally” makes them the favourite team, but also on the qualitative level the “patrol” that will represent Italy at the Torino 2007 Universiade –scheduled from January 17th to January 27th - has all it takes to leave a mark. The large group of young champions, eager to cut a fine figure in the winter meeting par excellence, will be captained by the athlete who most aroused the Italians’ excitement during the latest edition of the Olympic Games in Torino. Enrico Fabris, the speed skating champion who won two titles during the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics and three medals (2 gold & 1 bronze) at the 2005 Winter Universiade in Innsbruck, will in fact be at the cutting edge of the Italian team. The hopes placed in the Vicentine champion derive from his enormous talent and from the feeling he has developed for the Torino Oval Stadium, the same feeling that enabled him to conquer two gold and one bronze medal, the first Olympic successes in the long history of Italian ice skating. There’s no doubt that the skates blades of Enrico Fabris will catalyze the attention during the Universiade: the champion from Asiago has confirmed that the event constitutes one of his seasonal targets, and for such reason he has assumed the responsibility to keep the Italian flag flying. A task that a champion knows how to pursue for his team.
