Assunta Legnante
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Italian |
| Born |
14 May 1978 Naples, Italy |
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 122 kg (269 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |
 Italy |
| Sport |
Athletics Paralympic athletics |
| Disability | Visually impaired |
| Disability class | T11 |
| Event(s) |
Shot put Discus throw |
| Club | Italgest Athletic Club |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | |
Medal record
| |
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
Assunta Legnante (born 14 May 1978 in Naples) is a visually impaired Italian shot putter. She has competed in both the Olympics and the Paralympics, one of the few athletes to do so. As of February 2013, she is the current F11 shot put world record holder.[1]
Non-disabled athletics career
Legnante won the silver medal at the 2002 and the gold medal at the 2007 European Indoor Athletics Championships, where she captained the Italian team.[2] She finished fifth at the 2006 European Athletics Championships. She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, having missed the 2004 Olympics due to dangerously high intraocular pressure.[2][3]
Her personal best throw is 19.04 metres, achieved in September 2006 in Busto Arsizio. Her best indoor result is 19.20 metres, achieved in February 2002 in Genova.[4]
Blindness and Paralympics
Legnante was born with congenital glaucoma in both eyes.[2] In 2009, she suddenly lost the sight in her better, right eye.[2][3] Her left retina then deteriorated.[2] She had a cataract removed in March 2012, but that did not improve her sight. She now has light perception in her left eye, but nothing more.[2]
The 2007 European indoor champion did not lose heart and started a new career as a Paralympic athlete, training for the forthcoming 2012 Summer Paralympics.[3]
At the 2012 Italian Paralympic Athletics Championships in Turin she set a new F11 shot put world record with a throw of 13.27 metres.[5] On 8 June, at Memorial Primo Nebiolo in Turin, she improved the world record, three times, to 15.22 m.[6] At the London Paralympics, she broke her own world record with a throw of 16.74 metres.[1]
In 2014, she returned to international level throwing 17.09 on 20 June and 17.39 at the regional championships in Naples eight days later.
Achievements
See also
- List of athletes who have competed in the Paralympics and Olympics
- Italian all-time lists - shot put
References
- 1 2 "IPC Athletics World Records" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Beijing Olympic shot-putter Assunta Legnante now blind, seeks Paralympic title". Association Internationale De La Presse Sportive. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Atletica: Legnante shock "Non ci vedo piu"" (in Italian). sportlive.it. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ↑ IAAF Athlete Profile: Assunta Legnante
- ↑ "Assunta Legnante nuovo record del mondo, tanti ottimi risultati." (in Italian). Fispes.it. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ↑ "Torino per il record bis di Abate" (in Italian). fidal.it. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
External links
- Assunta Legnante at Sports Reference
- Assunta Legnante profile at IAAF
| Men's track & road athletes |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Men's field athletes | ||
| Women's track & road athletes | ||
| Women's field athletes | ||