By Giancarlo Navach
MILAN, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Giuliano Bevilacqua, an 84‑year-old Italian photographer and veteran of the Olympic scene, was back searching for the perfect angle as he shot last week’s men’s figure skating in Milan.
Colleagues greeted him warmly, paying tribute to a man who has covered 30 Summer and Winter Olympics and 15 soccer World Cups — and who maintains the enthusiasm he had in his early days.
“At the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, I hope to be there as well, because athletics is the discipline I like the most,” he said.
Born in the town of Voghera, 65 km (40 miles) south of Milan, Bevilacqua has travelled the world not only to follow sport and the Olympics but also to photograph prominent figures, including former U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
He claims his own Games record as he returns to home soil for the Milano Cortina Games.
“I hold the record among photographers for the number of Olympics I’ve covered. The first was Tokyo in 1964,” he said.
Bevilacqua now lives in Spain with his family and continues to pursue his passion for photography, “between one plane trip and another”.
Asked about his favourite picture, he turns to Formula One.
“For sure the one I shot of Ayrton Senna in Monte Carlo — I think it was 1988 or 1989. I remember the difficulty of getting what I wanted, using the typical tricks photographers use,” he recalled.
A freelancer for most of his career, Bevilacqua speaks with regret about changes in the profession dominated by bigger media groups.
“I compare it to the owner of a small shop struggling to survive against big supermarket chains,” he said.
He does find the travelling involved in these Games, spread across a wide area of northern Italy, a challenge.
Getting from Voghera, where he still has family ties, to Cortina d’Ampezzo takes at least six hours, he said. Covering early‑morning Alpine skiing events means staying overnight — an expensive proposition.
“Up to and including the last Paris Olympics everything was pretty close, and the venue was fairly simple to cover,” he said.
(Reporting by Giancarlo Navach,Editing by Keith Weir and Ed Osmond)
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