Assunta Legnante (born 14 May 1978) 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. , she is the current F11 shot put world record holder. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Women's discus throw F11, and Women's shot put F12, winning silver medals.
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. In 2009 she is Silver Medal in the same category at the Mediterranean Games
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.
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.
Blindness and Paralympics Legnante was born with congenital glaucoma in both eyes. In 2009, she suddenly lost the sight in her better, right eye. Her left retina then deteriorated. 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.
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.
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. On 8 June, at Memorial Primo Nebiolo in Turin, she improved the world record, three times, to 15.22 m. At the London Paralympics, she broke her own world record with a throw of 16.74 metres.
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 Athletics1996World Junior ChampionshipsSydney, Australia13th (q)Shot put13.44 m1999European U23 ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden3rdShot put16.53 m2001Mediterranean Games Radès, Tunisia 1stShot put17.23 mUniversiade Beijing, China11thShot put16.16 m2002European Indoor Championships Vienna, Austria 2ndShot put18.60 mEuropean Championships Munich, Germany8thShot put18.23 m = PB2003World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom8thShot put18.20 mWorld Championships Paris, France8thShot put18.28 m2004World Athletics Final Monte Carlo, Monaco6thShot put17.20 m2005European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 6thShot put17.76 mWorld Championships Helsinki, Finland 12thShot put16.99 mUniversiade İzmir, Turkey 4thShot put17.31 m2006European Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 5thShot put18.83 m2007European Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 1stShot put18.92 m2009Mediterranean Games Pescara, Italy 2ndShot put17.44 mParalympic Athletics2012Summer Paralympics London, United Kingdom 1stShot put16.74 m 8thDiscus throw30.81 m2016Summer Paralympics Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1stShot put15.74 m4thDiscus throw31.51 m
See also List of athletes who have competed in the Paralympics and Olympics Italian all-time lists – shot put
References
External links