On June 26th, we will discover who will succeed Giovanni Malagò as president of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI). There are 8 candidates: Duccio Bartalucci (who recently lost the Fise presidency elections), Luciano Buonfiglio (Canoe Kayak Federation president), Franco Carraro (former CONI president from 1978 to 1987 and current IOC honorary member), Mauro Checcoli (two golds in equestrian at Tokyo 1964), Pierluigi Camilli (Modern Pentathlon federal councilor), Giuseppe Macchiarola (sports doctor), Luca Pancalli (Paralympic Committee president) and Carlo Iannelli, father of Giovanni, who is known in the cycling world for the justice battle he has been fighting since 2019, the year his son passed away from the consequences of a race crash.

Carlo, how did the idea of running for the top of national sports come about?

"Accidentally, one morning, at dawn. I hardly sleep anymore... I read an agency announcing various candidacies, got curious and informed myself, discovering I had all the requirements. To my surprise and disbelief, I found out that those proposing themselves for CONI presidency don't need to present a program, but mine would be and is very simple: I want to bring ethics back to sports. My son Giovanni's story made me uncover a horrible, inhuman, horrifying reality that I believe is not just in cycling and has nothing to do with the values that should support and underpin sports. The values that drew me closer to sports and cycling in particular. I officially submitted my candidacy more than a month ago, but until now no one had spoken about it..."

Who are your mentors in sports?

"Alfredo Martini, the master of all of us in cycling, and Franco Ballerini. They perfectly embodied those ethical values that have unfortunately disappeared, something I realized when I lost my son. The Federation that should primarily protect its athletes, especially young ones, especially those who died due to others' faults, immediately presented itself as Giovanni's opponent, doing everything, by any legal and illegal means, to prevent the responsibilities of those who could have prevented his death from emerging. The final civil verdict states that the FCI killed Giovanni, an innocent victim, and that his accident was not just a racing incident. We can say this loudly because the magistrates in Alessandria wrote that when you present yourself at a competition's start, you accept every risk, even the risk of dying."

How would you define your candidacy?

"Unrealistic and provocative. I know I won't get a single vote, but on June 26th in Rome, in my speech, I want to reiterate the concept that ethics must be brought back to the center of sports. Medals are important, but results come after the values we transmit to our kids. I have the requirements to try - in my 8 years as vice president of the Tuscany FCI Regional Committee, I was a member of the regional CONI board. There's no chance I'll be elected, but I want to look certain people in the eyes. They keep avoiding me, but I'll eventually track them down."

As a lawyer and Giovanni's dad, don't you feel you've obtained justice?

"I've initiated a civil case against the federal prosecutor, currently in mediation, with a hearing on June 10th. Yesterday I received communication that Nicola Capozzoli, Ida Blasi, and Giovanni Petrella won't appear. They're running away, but I'll catch them. For my son Giovanni's death, criminal proceedings are still ongoing, they've made it an enormous issue. If it had been discussed as involuntary manslaughter, the judicial process would have ended long ago, but come October, it will be 6 years. With the statute of limitations, they'll have reached their goal, but they'll forever have an innocent 22-year-old on their conscience. My candidacy is for cyclists of all ages, today and tomorrow, because the safety issue truly interests me, I'm not just paying lip service. A fair trial would have served this purpose, but race safety remains an ignored topic. There should never again be a death like Giovanni's, and yet there will be because since October 2019, nothing has changed."