Sadness enveloped Slovak athletics. At the age of 20, after a two-year struggle for insidious cancer, former youth representative Nikoleta Abbatantuono succumbed to walking.

Nika with Matej Tóth at a time when she was already struggling with an insidious disease.

I'm very sad about that, because I knew Nika well. I'm sorry I couldn't come to say goodbye to her. " sighed Olympic champion Matej Tóth, who is training at Livigno. "We had the first coach Petr Mečiar together, so we met whenever I trained in Nitra. It's a pity for her talent, "added Matej, who helped the young athlete as best he could.

Nikoleta, whose mother also took cancer, fought her opponents on the pedestrian tracks until June 2016, when half of her face became paralyzed and she began to have problems walking. The doctors' verdict was cruel: a brain tumor, inoperable, that pushes the centers of motion. The last farewell to Nikoleta took place on Monday in the church in Nitrianske Hrnčiarovce.