Beatrice Vio
| Beatrice Vio | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 4 March 1997 Venice, Italy |
| Sport | |
| Country | Italy |
| Sport | Fencing |
| Weapon | foil |
| Hand | left-handed |
| National coach | Simone Vanni |
| Club | Scherma Mogliano |
| Head coach | Federica Berton, Alice Esposito |
Beatrice Maria “Bebe” Vio (born 4 March 1997) is an Italian wheelchair fencer, European champion in 2014 and 2016 and World champion in 2015 in the foil B category.
Biography
Vio was born in Venice, the second of three siblings.[1] In her childhood she pursued two passions: fencing, which she took up when she was five, and scouting.[1] In late 2008 she was found to have severe meningitis, which led to the amputation of both her legs from the knee, and both her arms from the forearms.[2] After more than three months of intensive rehabilitation she was able to come back to sport.[3] Under the coaching of Federica Berton and Alice Esposito she took part in her first wheelchair fencing competition in 2010.[4] Her experience inspired her parents to found the non-profit organization Art4sport Onlus, which promotes sport for amputee young people.
The 2012 Summer Paralympics were too early in her career for her to take part, but she was a torchbearer at the opening ceremony.[3] In the same year, at the age of 15, she joined the Italian wheelchair fencing team. In 2013 she won her first World Cup in Montreal after she defeated Olympic silver medallist Dani Gyöngyi. For this performance she was named paralympic athlete of the month by the International Paralympic Committee.[5] In the early 2013–14 season she took a pause to focus on her studies. After her return in June she won both the individual and team competition at the European Championships.[6] The year after she became world champion after she defeated Gyöngyi 15–4 in the final.[7] In the same year she was named an ambassador for the Milan Expo 2015[8] and she published her autobiography, Mi hanno regalato un sogno.[9]
In the 2015–16 season she received the Mangiarotti Award from the Italian Olympic Committee.[10] She won her second European title in Casale Monferatto, prevailing over Russian Irina Mishurova.[11] In July she lost in the final of the Warsaw World Cup to Russian Viktoria Boykova, which ended her streak of 11 consecutive victories in World Cup events.[12] She however qualified to the 2016 Summer Paralympics as the top-ranked fencer in her category.[13]
References
- ^ a b Diego Costa (12 June 2014). "Bebe Vio, che ha battuto la Vezzali cambiando la sopravvivenza in vita". La Repubblica (in Italian).
- ^ "One year on: Wheelchair fencing star Bebe Vio". Paralympic.org. 31 August 2013.
- ^ a b Luca Pisapia (11 June 2012). "Tirare di scherma con quattro protesi, è Beatrice Vio tedofora alle Paralimpadi". Il Fatto quotidiano (in Italian).
- ^ "Beatrice Vio". Paralympic.org. 31 August 2013.
- ^ "Beatrice Vio - Athlete of the Month May 2013". Paralympic.org. May 2013.
- ^ "Scherma, agli Europei l'Italia ha il sorriso di Beatrice Vio" (in Italian). Rai News. 10 June 2014.
- ^ Maddalena Carlino (22 September 2015). "Niente è impossibile. Bebe Vio, l'oro paralimpico del fioretto ci racconta "come fare la differenza"" (in Italian). L'Unità TV.
- ^ Marina Sogliani (9 April 2015). "La campionessa di scherma Beatrice Vio sarà Ambassador di Expo Milano 2015". Il Corriere della sera (in Italian).
- ^ "Beatrice "Bebe" Vio: "Mi hanno regalato un sogno"". Il Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 14 December 2015.
- ^ Silvia Galimberti (25 February 2016). "Il premio "Mangiarotti" assegnato all'imbattibile Vio". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian).
- ^ Claudio Arrigoni (18 May 2016). "Non si ferma mai. Oro europeo 2016 per Bebe Vio". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian).
- ^ Alessandro Gennari (11 July 2016). "Varsavia: argento per Bebe, si interrompe la striscia vicente". Pianeta Scherma (in Italian).
- ^ "Federscherma - Giochi Paralimpici Rio2016 - Ecco la delegazione azzurra: sette Italiani in pedana dal 12 al 16 settembre" (in Italian). Italian Fencing Federation. 18 July 2016.