Assunta Legnante

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Assunta Legnante
Italy cropped Rio Games 32.png
Personal information
NationalityItalian
Born (1978-05-14) 14 May 1978 (age 43)
Naples, Italy
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Weight122 kg (269 lb)
Sport
CountryItaly Italy
SportAthletics
Paralympic athletics
DisabilityVisually impaired
Disability classT11
Event(s)Shot put
Discus throw
ClubItalgest Athletic Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • Shot put: 19.04 m (2006)
  • Shot put indoor: 19.20 m (2002) Sport records icon NR.svg
  • Shot put F11: 16.74 m (2012) Sport records icon WR.svg
  • Discus Throw F11 : 32.72 m (2012) Sport records icon EU.svg
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Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Italy
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Shot put F11-12
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Shot put F12
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Discuss throw F11
IPC World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Doha Shot put F12
Gold medal – first place 2019 Dubai Discus throw F11
IPC European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Swansea Shot put - F11/12
Gold medal – first place 2014 Swansea Discus - F11/12
European Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Birmingham Shot put
Silver medal – second place 2002 Vienna Shot put
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 2001 Radès Shot put
Silver medal – second place 2009 Pescara Shot put
European Cup Winter Throwing
Gold medal – first place 2008 Split Shot put
Silver medal – second place 2002 Pola Shot put
Silver medal – second place 2004 Marsa Shot put
Silver medal – second place 2005 Mersin Shot put
Silver medal – second place 2007 Jalta Shot put
European U23 Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Gothenburg Shot put
European Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Ljubljana Shot put

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[]

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Athletics
1996 World Junior Championships Sydney, Australia 13th (q) Shot put 13.44 m
1999 European U23 Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 3rd Shot put 16.53 m
2001 Mediterranean Games Radès, Tunisia 1st Shot put 17.23 m
Universiade Beijing, China 11th Shot put 16.16 m
2002 European Indoor Championships Vienna, Austria 2nd Shot put 18.60 m
European Championships Munich, Germany 8th Shot put 18.23 m = PB
2003 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, England 8th Shot put 18.20 m
World Championships Paris, France 8th Shot put 18.28 m
2004 World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco 6th Shot put 17.20 m
2005 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 6th Shot put 17.76 m
World Championships Helsinki, Finland 12th Shot put 16.99 m
Universiade Izmir, Turkey 4th Shot put 17.31 m
2006 European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 5th Shot put 18.83 m
2007 European Indoor Championships Birmingham, England 1st Shot put 18.92 m
2009 Mediterranean Games Pescara, Italy 2nd Shot put 17.44 m
Paralympic Athletics
2012 Summer Paralympics London, United Kingdom 1st Shot put 16.74 m Sport records icon WR.svg
8th Discus throw 30.81 m
2016 Summer Paralympics Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 1st Shot put 15.74 m
4th Discus throw 31.51 m

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "IPC Athletics World Records". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Beijing Olympic shot-putter Assunta Legnante now blind, seeks Paralympic title". Association Internationale De La Presse Sportive. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Atletica: Legnante shock "Non ci vedo piu"" (in Italian). sportlive.it. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  4. ^ IAAF Athlete Profile: Assunta Legnante
  5. ^ "Assunta Legnante nuovo record del mondo, tanti ottimi risultati" (in Italian). Fispes.it. Retrieved 12 May 2012.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Torino per il record bis di Abate" (in Italian). fidal.it. Retrieved 9 June 2012.

External links[]

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