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13536-Francesca Porcellato photo

Francesca Porcellato

Italian flag
Italy
Athletics
3
4
10

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment
Spinal Cord Injuries
Origin of Impairment
Acquired
Classification
H3

Further personal information

Family
Husband Dino Farinazzo
Residence
Valeggio sul Mincio, ITA
Occupation
Athlete
Languages
Italian, English, French

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport?
She took up Para cycling in 2014.
Why this sport?
She was introduced to Para cycling as part of her training programme for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, where she competed in Para cross-country skiing.
Club / Team
GC-Apre Olmedo: Predazzo, ITA
Name of coach
Mario Valentini [national], ITA; Dino Farinazzo [personal, husband]

General interest

Nicknames
La Rossa Volante [The Flying Redhead] (ilnuovodiario.com, 19 May 2021)
Hobbies
Travelling, reading, cooking. (IPC, 19 Nov 2009)
Memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold in the H3 category time trial at the 2021 Road World Championships in Cascais, Portugal. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 Aug 2021; Instagram profile, 12 Jun 2021)
Most influential person in career
Her husband and coach Dino Farinazzo. (atleticalive.it, 19 Apr 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"We are all different, but it is diversity that makes the world beautiful and life worth living. Sport can truly be a means of bringing all diversity closer." (ilnuovodiario.com, 19 May 2021)
Awards and honours
She received the 2012 Verona Giovani award in Italy in recognition of her sporting successes. (verona-in.it, 18 Dec 2012)

In 2010 she was named a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. (quirinale.it, 10 Sep 2010)

She was joint flag bearer with swimmer Cecilia Camellini for Italy at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. (inail.it, 09 Jul 2009)

In 2004 she was named an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. She had previously been named a Knight in 2000. (quirinale.it, 01 Jan 2016)
Other sports
She has represented Italy in Para athletics and Para cross-country skiing at international level. In Para athletics, she competed at the Paralympic Games in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008, winning a total of 10 medals [two gold, three silver and five bronze]. In para cross-country skiing, she competed at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and won gold in the sitting sprint at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 Aug 2021)
Ambitions
To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (ilnuovodiario.com, 19 May 2021)
Impairment
She was run over by a truck when she was 18 months old after the driver mistook her for a doll. The accident damaged her spine and resulted in paraplegia. (Athlete, 13 Mar 2014; inail.it, 9 Jul 2009)
Other information
FROM ATHLETICS AND SKIIING TO CYCLING
She believes that her background in Para athletics has given her the endurance required to compete at international level in Para cycling, but adds that she needed to lose some of the body mass she acquired for Para cross-country skiing when she transitioned to the bike after the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi. "In athletics, in addition to speed, I also ran marathons, so I have always done endurance training, which is the basis for all three disciplines. Then, for skiing, it was necessary to have resistant strength so I intensified my training in that aspect. For cycling, instead, I had to lose some mass and become more agile and, therefore, I did different work on strength. Perhaps the greatest difficulty was the tactical and technical adaptation, because the disciplines are almost the opposite of each other, but I would say that I have succeeded well." (atleticalive.it, 19 Apr 2018)

Results

Unit Date Rank
Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games (Vancouver, Canada)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 5 km Sitting Final Round 6
Women's 1 km Sprint Sitting Final Round 1
IPC Athletics World Championships Assen 2006 (Assen, Netherlands)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 200 m T53 Final Round 3
Women's 200 m T53 Heat 1 2
Women's 100 m T53 Final Round 3
Women's 100 m T53 Heat 3 2
Women's 400 m T53 Heat 2 2
Women's 400 m T53 Final Round 7
Women's 800 m T53 Final Round 4
Women's Marathon T54 Final Round 5
Athens 2004 Paralympic Games (Athens, Greece)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 800 m T53 Final Round 2
Women's 800 m T53 Heat 2 1
Women's 400 m T53 Final Round 3
Women's 400 m T53 Heat 1 2
Women's 100 m T53 Final Round 2
IPC Athletics World Championships Villeneuve d'Ascq 2002 (Villeneuve d'Ascq, France)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Marathon T54 Final Round 5
Women's 800 m T53 Final Round 4
Women's 400 m T53 Final Round 4
Women's 100 m T53 Final Round 4
Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games (Torino, Italy)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 10 km Sitski Final Round 9999
Women's 5 km Sitski Final Round 9
Women's 2.5 km Sitski Final Round 10
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games (Beijing, China)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Marathon T54 Final Round 9
Women's 800 m T53 Final Round 5
Women's 400 m T53 Final Round 5
Women's 400 m T53 Heat 1 4
Women's 200 m T53 Final Round 6
Women's 200 m T53 Heat 1 3
Women's 100 m T53 Final Round 4
Women's 100 m T53 Heat 1 3
Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games (Sydney, Australia)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 800 m T53 Final Round 5
Women's 400 m T53 Final Round 5
Women's 200 m T53 Final Round 6
Women's 100 m T53 Final Round 3
Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games (Seoul, South Korea)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m 2 Final Round 1
Women's 4x400 m 2-6 Final Round 3
Women's 4x200 m 2-6 Final Round 3
Women's 4x100 m 2-6 Final Round 1
Women's 800 m 2 Final Round 6
Women's 400 m 2 Final Round 5
Women's 400 m 2 Heat 2 2
Women's 200 m 2 Final Round 2
Barcelona 1992 Paralympic Games (Barcelona, Spain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 800 m TW3 Final Round 5
Women's 400 m TW3 Final Round 3
Women's 400 m TW3 Heat 2 2
Women's 200 m TW3 Final Round 7
Women's 200 m TW3 Heat 2 2
Women's 100 m TW3 Final Round 5
Women's 1500 m TW3-4 Final Round 11
Atlanta 1996 Paralympic Games (Atlanta, United States of America)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m T52 Heat 1 3
Women's 100 m T52 Final Round 6
Women's Marathon T52-53 Final Round 10
Women's 200 m T52 Heat 2 4
Women's 200 m T52 Final Round 6
Women's 400 m T52 Heat 2 5
Women's 400 m T52 Final Round 7
Women's 800 m T52 Final Round 4
Women's 1500 m T52-53 Final Round 9999
IPC Athletics World Championships Birmingham 1998 (Birmingham, Great Britain)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Marathon T55 Final Round 6
Women's 800 m T54 Final Round 4
Women's 200 m T54 Final Round 3
Women's 100 m T54 Final Round 2
2011 IPC Athletics World Championships (Christchurch, New Zealand)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 100 m T53 Heat 1 2011-01-22 3
Women's 100 m T53 Final 2011-01-23 6
Women's 800 m T53 Final 2011-01-24 5
Women's 200 m T53 Heat 1 2011-01-24 3
Women's 200 m T53 Final 2011-01-25 6
IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships Solleftea (Solleftea, Sweden)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Sprint - Classic Sitting Final 2013-02-25 11
Women's Long Distance - Classic Sitting Final 2013-02-26 10
Women's Middle Distance - Classic Sitting Final 2013-03-05 9999
Paralympic Winter Games 2014 (Sochi, Russia)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's 12 km Sitting Final Round 2014-03-09 10
Women's 1 km Sprint Sitting Semifinal 2014-03-12 9
Women's 5 km Sitting Final Round 2014-03-16 10
Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Event Medal Unit Date Rank
Women's Time Trial H1-3 Final Round 2016-09-14 3
Women's Road Race H1-4 Final Round 2016-09-15 3