Anna Barbaro

Started: She began competing in Para triathlon in 2015. (vanityfair.it, 17 Jun 2024) Reason: Her father took her to a swimming pool shortly after she lost her sight. "I started sport just for fun, to get my life back. Then, step by step, and after some swimming competitions, a passion for triathlon was born. It gives me a sense of freedom by being in touch with nature. I had never done sports before losing my sight. London 2012 [the Paralympic Games] was when I heard about triathlon for the first time. I asked my coach if I could do it and he replied, 'You just learned to swim, and you want to add two more disciplines?'" (vanityfair.it, 17 Jun 2024; fanpage.it, 25 Feb 2021) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (vanityfair.it, 17 Jun 2024) Milestones: She was one of the first two female triathletes to win a medal for Italy in the sport at the Paralympic Games. She claimed silver in the women's PTVI event on the same day that compatriot Veronica Yoko Plebani won bronze in the women's PTS2 event at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: In 2023 she received the 'Bergamotto d'Oro' [Golden Bergamot] award, which recognises the contributions of individuals from Reggio Calabria, Italy. (citynow.it, 25 Jun 2023) She received the Gold Medal of Athletic Valour from the Italian National Olympic Committee [CONI] in 2021 and the Bronze Medal of Athletic Valour in 2019. (coni.it, 2021) Additional Info: MOTHERHOOD She gave birth to her daughter Francesca in 2022. "[The 2024 Paralympic Games mean] being able to show my daughter that sacrifice brings a lot, brings a lot of joy and that with sacrifice you can achieve great things. I would like to be an example especially for her as she is growing up. Of course, she is still too young to understand, but her presence and that of my husband make it clear that, from Tokyo [the 2020 Paralympic Games] to today, I have grown as a person. I was enriched with many different feelings. I'm not saying I'm someone else, but that I'm a more mature person who is aware of the path she's following. For me, Tokyo was the Paralympics I wanted, on a selfish level, for myself, for everything I had been through as well as for the family who supported me and for all the work Charlie [guide Charlotte Bonin] and I did together. This [Paris 2024] will be a Paralympics in which I am giving a lot of value to those around me, it is the family Paralympics." (vanityfair.it, 17 Jun 2024; Instagram profile, 12 Oct 2023) GUIDE In 2019 she began working with guide Charlotte Bonin, who represented Italy in triathlon at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2016. "I was placed alongside Charlie through my club, the Fiamme Azzurre. She helps me to have these beautiful experiences and gives me the chance to win." (vanityfair.it, 17 Jun 2024; Instagram profile, 12 Jun 2024; superabile.it, 26 Oct 2023; SportsDeskOnline, 22 Aug 2021; fanpage.it, 25 Feb 2021; gnewsonline.it, 30 Apr 2019) MUSICAL BACKGROUND She began playing the violin at age five and went on to attend the Francesco Cilea Conservatory of Music. "I played in an orchestra. I had my musician friends. If I had done sports earlier, maybe I would have become better at music too. They both teach discipline, they teach dedication, having to spend many hours repeating the same things over and over again. I would have had more energy by doing sports first and then music." (vanityfair.it, 17 Jun 2024; citynow.it, 25 Jun 2023)