PIZZOLATO Antonino

General
WEIGHT CATEGORY CHANGE
He moved down to the 81kg class from the 85kg class after the weight categories were reorganised by the International Weightlifting Federation [IWF] in 2018. "It was a very tough decision. My technicians advised me to drop weight, so I went to my nutritionist to do an evaluation of the fat muscle ratio and to see if I could lose four kilograms to be in new category. After the testing, the nutritionist told me I could do it. We had a meeting with my sports club and the technical director of the national team and we decided to switch category. I have to admit that the first periods were the most difficult, but over time I adapted to the diet and I managed to maintain the same volume and intensity, indeed I also improved them. This decision made me understand that proper nutrition makes your training and recovery better. The change of category has helped me so much. I pay more attention to nutrition, which I didn't do at 85kg, when I ate what I wanted. I realised that eating well changes everything." (torokhtiy.com, 28 Jul 2020; oasport.it, 18 Feb 2020)

SUSPENSION
In March 2018 he received a 10-month suspension from the Italian Weightlifting Federation [FIPE] after he admitted charges of bullying and acting in a threatening manner towards teammates. (oasport.it, 27 Mar 2018)