• Paola Egonu was chosen by the International Olympic Committee, along with five other athletes, to carry the Olympic flag during the opening ceremony on Friday in Tokyo.

  • An impressive image of the Italian volleyball player, jumping high above the net, has gone viral.

  • If the attacker is known for the power of her shots and her jumps, from the height of her 1.93 m, she did not however make such a gesture.

    The image has been retouched.

"How did she manage to get this high?"

" " What picture !

An image of Italian volleyball player Paola Egonu, almost appearing to fly over the net, has been shared on social media since Friday, the opening day of the Tokyo Olympics.

The sportswoman, who is taking part in the Olympics for the second time at just 22 years old, is renowned for the power of her shots and jumps, from the height of her 1.93 m.

FAKE OFF

The photo is retouched: it appears as a miniature of a video on a YouTube channel devoted to volleyball.

Maksim Frolov, the creator of this channel, confirms at

20 Minutes

that this image is retouched: "The players cannot jump like that", he confirms.

The retouched image is from a qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics.

The meeting, played on August 4, 2019, opposed the Netherlands to Italy.

Paola Egonu's gesture is visible at 21 seconds in this video, which shows the best moments of the meeting.

The majority of the attacker's body, who nevertheless achieves an impressive jump, is not far above the net as in the retouched image.

The edited photo went viral in Italy on Friday.

Paola Egonu paraded that day at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, where she was the IOC flag bearer, alongside five other athletes.

A choice discussed by an Italian journalist and blogger, who argued that the champion had not been selected for her sporting qualities "but because she embodies a cliché".

Words that immediately caused an uproar, newspapers and Internet users recalling in return the record of the young woman, already winner in the world club championship and holder, among other things, of a silver medal at the world championships in 2018 with his national team.

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