THE LOSS OF RAIMONDO BUCHER, THE CHAMPION UNCLE

Tonight Raimondo Bucher died. He was world record holder of deep diving in the 1950s and commanded parts of the aerial patrol of the Horse Rampante in the last war. He was the brother of my mother, and I always called him Uncle Champion, because the stories of his enterprises charmed me as a little girl. To think of "No limits" athletes in those days was inconceivable, but he attempted enterprises, that for the time, seemed impossible. Climbing, underwater, piloting: in every discipline he was always the first one and the best one. The gold medal of athletic value was given to him, the most decorated in sports. He was blessed with an exceptional physical health and knew how to maintain it. With this comes the loss of a symbol of competitive sport pure and unconcerned. Good bye uncle Raimondo, you will be missed me a lot.