By Mathieu Wood
To be a flagbearer at one Olympic Games is something an athlete dreams about, but to do it twice is almost unheard of.
Three years on from being bestowed the honour for the first time in Tokyo, Fabrizio Zanotti experienced it again in Paris on Friday, days before teeing it up in the men’s golf competition at Le Golf National.
Unlike at the last Games in Japan when he walked out into a near-empty stadium with a mask over his face, this time around nothing – not even the unrelenting rain – could hide the smile on his face as he took his place among 15 or so Paraguayan athletes on one of the 85 boats that travelled along the River Seine.
To be asked to carry out the duties for his country with rower Alejandra Alonso came out of the blue. Zanotti, the world No. 353, only just made it into the 60-strong field for this week’s competition.
It speaks for just how highly regarded Zanotti is in his homeland.
“It was a big personal achievement,” said Zanotti during a break after practice at Le Golf National.
“I’m very proud of my place in Paraguayan sport. It was a really nice experience, a totally different Opening Ceremony to what is the norm.”
Two-time DP World Tour winner Zanotti is one of only four men – alongside Ryan Fox, Gavin Green and C.T. Pan – to participate at each Olympics since golf’s return in 2016.
At 41, this could be his last one. As such, he is intent on making the most of the opportunity, opting to spend a couple of days in the lead-up to the event in the Olympic Village before moving closer to the site of the 2018 Ryder Cup.
“Golf can be very lonely so to spend time with other athletes from other sports makes you feel part of a team,” explained Zanotti, who is the only representative from Paraguay in either the men’s or women’s golf competitions.
“It’s a great sensation, asking others what sports they are competing in and learning about their journeys.”
There are just 28 athletes from Paraguay competing in France at this summer’s Games. Almost two thirds of that contingent are made up of the country’s men’s football squad.
Perhaps by coincidence, it is that very sport which has delivered the South American nation’s only medal at an Olympic Games – a silver in the men’s football in 2004.
With eight of the world’s top 10 in the men’s field, Zanotti is realistic enough to know his chances of a medal may seem slim, but that isn’t denting his determination to perform at his best.
“Whether it was in Rio, Tokyo or Paris now, you want to win a medal for you and your country,” he said when asked if he can adopt a nothing to lose mentality this week.
Whether it was in Rio, Tokyo or Paris now, you want to win a medal for you and your country
But amid everything that will take place over the four days of competition, it is perhaps the knowledge he will be competing in front of his family that gives Zanotti satisfaction and confidence this will be an enriching experience.
“To have my wife and three children with me this week is quite different from Tokyo, where the pandemic and the quarantine rules prevented that from being possible,” he says with a broad smile.
“My 9-year-old boy was so happy when it was confirmed I had qualified. When I get announced ahead of the first round on Thursday and I see my family, it will be really emotional.”
How the week unfolds for Zanotti remains to be seen, but what isn’t in doubt is the pride he feels to once again be involved in the biggest sporting spectacle of all.
“Golf is only getter bigger and bigger at the Olympics," he says. "The field this week is really strong. The players are demonstrating a commitment to the Olympics which is really good.
“The Games gives golf a platform to grow further.”
And with those words, Zanotti is a flagbearer in more than one sense this week.
