Valentina Gottardi is an Italian beach volleyball player. She with Marta Menegatti played at 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She is originally from Modena Italy and currently lives in Formia.
In Women’s Beach volleyball Representing Italy she won Silver medal at the 2024 European Beach Volleyball Championships that took place from 13th to 18th August 2024 in The Hague, Arnhem, and Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.
She also stood First at World Tour Saquarema 2023, Second at World Tour Edminton 2023, Second at World Tour Madrid 2022, Second at World Tour Lecce 2022 and Fifth at World Championships U19 2021
Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with Valentina Gottardi an exceptionally talented Italian Beach volleyball player, Silver medalist of 2024 European Beach Volleyball Championships, here she talks about her fitness routine, her diet, and her success story.
Namita Nayyar:
You were born in Modena, Italy. Where did you have your early education and beach volleyball training? Now you study at at Unimore – University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and presently live in Formia. You stood 5th at World Championships U19 2021. This later propelled your career to the height where you have been at the top of the world as a beach volleyball player. Tell us more about your professional journey of exceptional hard work, tenacity, and endurance?
Valentina Gottardi:
I was born in Modena, a city strongly devoted to indoor volleyball and characterized by the presence of professional teams, both female and male, that compete at the highest level in Europe. Traditionally in town there are also many youth teams programs, and this is where my career started. My family has always been sporty and has passed on to me the basic values of sport, immediately integrating them into my personal growth. Before arriving at indoor volleyball, I practiced many disciplines, including tennis, swimming and rhythmic gymnastics.
But it was in volleyball, first indoors and even more later on the sand, that I found my best expression. The complete transition to beach volleyball occurred towards the end of high school, which I attended in Modena. At that time, I already had a clear idea of which studies I preferred and where I excelled: STEM subjects.
So at the end of 2020, the Italian Volleyball Federation saw me playing and decided to involve me in the Club Italia youth project: an under-18 permanent training group based in Formia, a beautiful sea location south of Rome. Formia is an iconic location where various generations of Italian Olympians trained.
Thanks to the hard work put together with an extraordinary team of coaches and conditioning trainers, completed by an excellent medical staff with specialists in sport medicine, physiotherapy, dietetics and psychology, after just one year, at the end of 2021, I placed fifth at the U19 world championship in Phuket, Thailand.
I had just enrolled at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, choosing a degree in Management Engineering, following up on my educational aspirations. The Tokyo Olympics had ended not many months before, and the Italian Volleyball Federation was preparing the program for Paris 2024. It was then that I was brought into the senior national team project, with Marta Menegatti as my teammate, who had already played in three Olympics.
At this moment, after my first Olympics in France (and her fourth) and a silver medal at the European Championship held last August in Holland, our couple occupies the sixth place in the world FIVB beach volleyball ranking.
Namita Nayyar:
It is a dream for a beach volleyball player to play in the European Beach Volleyball Championships. You won the Silver medal in the 2024 European Beach Volleyball Championships that took place from 13 to 18 August 2024 in The Hague, Arnhem, and Apeldoorn in the Netherlands. Tell us more about this spectacular achievement of yours?
Valentina Gottardi:
The Netherlands hosted an extraordinary edition of the European Championships. The Dutch volleyball culture is at the highest level, and it was very motivating to be supported by a competent audience that applauded every single match. The tournament was played towards the end of the season, but thanks to a dedicated training micro-cycle, I managed to gather the right energy to win my first medal in a European championship in a final played in the magnificent setting of Scheveningen, the beach of The Hague.
Namita Nayyar:
You stood 2nd at World Tour Madrid 2022 that was held from 19.5.22 to 23.5.22 and also at World Tour Lecce 2022 that was held from 7.7.22 to 11.7.22. How does such winning honour’s act as a catalyst in your metriotic rise as a world leading beach volleyball player?
Valentina Gottardi:
The top beach volleyball world circuit is the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour, organized by the world volleyball federation, the FIVB. The basic tournaments of this circuit are the so-called Futures. They are the entry level for any young player. Getting on the podium immediately in 2022 allowed me to quickly move on to the next level of tournaments, the Challenges.
Having collected a few podiums again at this higher level, including a victory in Brazil in April 2023, I have been pretty soon able to consolidate my presence at the Elite 16 level, the top of the circuit. Considering that the points you collect in the Elite16 are the biggest contributors to the race towards the Olympics, I see the first Futures played as the beginning of my rapid ascend.
Full Interview is Continued on the Next Page
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President of womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied, or hosted in part or full anywhere without express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2025 Women Fitness
Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine you may wish to share?
Valentina Gottardi:
Physical preparation is essential for an athletically demanding sport played on sand and in any weather condition, like beach volleyball. The winter sessions in the weight room are strongly focused on increasing my power. I love doing exercises like the Olympic clean and snatch. But I also do a heavy part of metabolic work, with exercises directly on the sand of the field. Repeated dashes and leaps, even from positions on the ground, simulate the variety of game circumstances you encounter in tournaments. My weekly routine includes up to four physical sessions.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you train your abs? One secret to your toned body.
Valentina Gottardi:
To train my abs and get a toned body, I follow a few key principles.
I perform varied exercises, always including crunches, planks, leg raises and bicycle crunches. To target different muscle groups. I do these three times a week, giving my abs the right recovery time.
The secret is to concentrate on the correct execution, carried out slowly to control maximum effectiveness.
A second trick is to integrate with other types of exercises, not limiting myself to training only the abs but, in the same session, also the lower back muscles, completing the strengthening of the core.
Namita Nayyar:
Do you take a special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Valentina Gottardi:
I follow a diet that is as varied as possible and based as much as possible on fresh products. I am careful about the total minimum level of proteins I take, regulating them throughout the day, while I don’t have a precise plan for the quantities of vegetables and fruits, which are anyway always present at every meal. And also in my daily mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks.
Despite being Italian, I don’t overdo it with pasta, which still remains my favorite form of carbohydrate. I eat it simple, even with just a little excellent and Mediterranean extra virgin olive oil. What cannot be missed, however, is Parmesan cheese, which is originally produced in my region of birth.
Namita Nayyar:
Five foods you absolutely love and five you keep to a minimum.
Valentina Gottardi:
In addition to the aforementioned Parmesan, I cannot live without mozzarella, especially Bufala. I could eat tons of fruit: oranges during the winter, and all the red fruits and the refreshing melon and watermelon during the summer. They are so tasty and they are also sources of liquids and vitamins. Lastly, a condiment and not a food: balsamic vinegar from Modena! I always have a bottle of it with me! A green salad with some mozzarella, a peach and some drops of balsamic vinegar can change your day!
I try to reduce the amount of sweets and cakes as possible but this doesn’t mean that I don’t eat them at all. Pizza is for special occasions, with friends.
Namita Nayyar:
You have glowing skin and gorgeous hair. Share with us your hair care and skincare routine.
Valentina Gottardi:
For my skin, in the morning and evening, I use a gentle cleanser to remove impurities. I then hydrate it with a serum and apply a moisturizer containing a UV protection factor. Given all the time I spend outdoors, I consider this aspect fundamental. Twice a week, I use a scrub to remove dead cells.
For my hair, I use a delicate shampoo, and I apply a restorative mask only to the length. To dry them, I use an ionic hair dryer. I then apply a few drops of flaxseed oil to the ends to avoid split ends.
Namita Nayyar:
You must have a Coach who has been a catalyst who helped you pave the way to rise in your career with discipline and a never stopping attitude. Elaborate about his/her influence on your professional life?
Valentina Gottardi:
Even before a specific coach, there was the spirit of application and sacrifice that I learned in my family that gave me the right foundations, determination and energy that I have then applied in sport. But if I have to look back at these last three years spent in professional beach volleyball, I absolutely have to remember Caterina, the head coach of the team formed by me and Marta, and Ettore, the assistant coach. But Marta herself had a key role in my growth.
In international beach volleyball, the coach accompanies you until just before the match, also with briefings on the strategic aspects that you need to remember in specific moments, with those particular opponents and with those specific court and environmental conditions. But you then have to play without them by your side and things can change really fast in Beach volleyball so is it possible that you and your partner have to adapt the pre-game strategy.
Caterina and Marta were Italian champions before me. One off the court, the other on, they contributed enormously to disciplining my strong energy. Considering that to practice our sport, we live in a small team away from home all year round, sharing trips, training and sacrifices, but also many pleasant moments together, their influence on a young athlete like me has also positively extended to many other aspects. But not when it comes to the use of technologies, where they are the ones asking for my help!
Namita Nayyar:
Five athletic leisure brands you love to wear.
Valentina Gottardi:
Currently, my agency, KVA Sports, is in the process of identifying and talking with brands on potential opportunities, so I want to be sure to respect that process. What I can tell you, however, is that I really focus on quality, comfort and style when choosing what I wear.
Namita Nayyar:
Five travel destinations on your wish list.
Valentina Gottardi:
For a pleasure trip, I would alternate some trips abroad with a visit to the wonderful and iconic places that I have not yet visited in my beloved Italy. I therefore chose the Chianti Hills in Tuscany and the Valley of the Temples in Sicily. And on the international route, Japan at cherry blossom time, Canada’s forests in autumn and USA’s Yellowstone National Park. But the trip I want most of all is the one during which I could bring beach volleyball to a remote rural community and receive a shower of smiles in return.
Namita Nayyar:
Quote you live by.
Valentina Gottardi:
Nothing worth having comes easy
Namita Nayyar:
Tell us about a day in the life of ‘Valentina Gottardi’.
Valentina Gottardi:
I have a well-balanced life between sport, study, family, friends relations and free time for myself. Obviously, sport is the most important part of my typical day. Throughout the day, I perform two workout sessions, alternating physical conditioning training with those on the court, with the ball. Physiotherapy completes my daily work routine.
I dedicate the spaces between training sessions to studying, and I think it is really important to do both.
If I have a day off I love to spend some quality time with my friends, my family and my dog.
Namita Nayyar:
During the Covid pandemic. Tell us more about your routine to remain fit in those challenging times?
Valentina Gottardi:
When the pandemic hit, I was still playing indoor volleyball. During the lockdown, our coaches organized themselves and prepared a physical conditioning program that we could perform at home. We did it via video call to be together as a team. But I missed playing with the ball, so with my sister, who is two years older than me, I organized a green volleyball court in our garden and trained alone with many analytical exercises, not having enough players for matches.
Namita Nayyar:
In sports like beach volleyball how was you able to overcome any physical or sports injury setbacks and what advices can you give to those in a similar situation.
Valentina Gottardi:
Beach volleyball is a very technical sport, where you need a great base of fundamentals and a lot of energy and determination. On these aspects, you work like an athlete in an individual sport. But beach volleyball is a team sport, where two athletes must share a single goal: it could be to win at an international level or just to stay fit and spend excellent quality time on a beach, enjoying how much nature and the open sky can give you.
It is not so obvious to immediately find the right harmony as a couple; therefore my advice is to remember, as a team, from time to time what binds us. The objectives are not only the victories. Because defeats will also come. They also include the improvements we are pursuing, the rankings we slowly want to climb, the game we want to express to entertain.
Namita Nayyar:
What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and the message for its visitors?
Valentina Gottardi:
If, like me, you care about your physical fitness, the balance of your diet, and your mental well-being, it is important to engage with the experience of professional athletes and a community of experts. Let yourself be inspired by a good read and put into practice a disciplined total well-being program as soon as possible.
Namita Nayyar:
Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding beach volleyball girls, who all are your fans and shall like to know from you for their climb to the ladder of success in the field of playing beach volleyball?
Valentina Gottardi:
Success is not a goal, but a path and a momentary state. A platform on which to build the next disciplined path. Work on your growth plan, and never forget to include intermediate objectives. It will be important to be consistent in following the process, and it will be essential to celebrate intermediate successes. And have fun, actively participating in creating a good spirit and attitude in your training group.
Namita Nayyar:
You have an impressive Instagram following of 84k followers. A message for your ardent admirers.
Valentina Gottardi:
I thank all my fans, and I want you to know that I feel your closeness every time I step onto the court. You give me an exceptional boost, both for my personal development and for the contribution I want to make to the growth of our wonderful sport.
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President of womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied, or hosted in part or full anywhere without express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2025 Women Fitness