The beauty of sport is not always and only the story of successes, but also the path that led to being successful and affirming oneself. Telling the story behind success, in the name of the now famous saying according to which “the only place where success comes before sweat is the dictionary”, a phrase which, if we want, is also a school of life. The story of Danny Demyanenko is very beautiful, the Canadian central defender new to Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina, who turned 30 just a handful of days ago; a path that led this splendid giant with dark skin but an Eastern surname to compete in the greatest international competition that an athlete could dream of, the Olympics.
And precisely in the week before the start of the Paris 2024 Games, we wanted to tell this story, for the first time given that for Demyanenko the next season will be his debut in Italy.
Demyanenko’s sporting baptism is common to that of many other boys, even if it took place on the other side of the ocean. His encounter with volleyball took place at the age of 14, after having tried his hand at swimming for several seasons, also with excellent results. As often happens, however, team sport becomes an invincible attraction, and from there he begins playing in Toronto for a few years, before enrolling at MC Master University, where he wins all the provincial championships up to the national championships. Demyanenko’s talents and dizzying escalation do not go unnoticed, and his professional career finally opens up: “I received a proposal from Toulouse, the perfect starting point for a Canadian who wants to make a living from volleyball, because of the language and the excellent level of the French championship.” He remained at Spacer’s for three years, before moving to Montpellier in 2020: “Even in this case the choice turned out to be the right one, we had good success, coming first in the regular season in the first year, and then winning the national title the following season. .. it hasn’t happened in Montpellier for 15 years!”.
Demyanenko is not someone who likes to change shirts often, and he remained in Montpellier until the end of last season, in which he took second place in the League rankings for central defenders. At the same time, the path in the national team, first as part of the B team of Canada, and then moving on to the A team with which he participated in the Olympic qualifying tournament, achieving success. And now, finally, a lifelong dream is coming true: “A great honor, representing my nation at the Olympic Games is one of the dreams I’ve had since I was a child.
