Rossella Fiamingo (born 14 July 1991) is an Italian left-handed épée fencer and two-time individual world champion.[1] A three-time Olympian, Fiamingo is a 2021 team Olympic bronze medalist and 2016 individual Olympic silver medalist.

Rossella Fiamingo
Personal information
Born (1991-07-14) 14 July 1991 (age 32)
Catania, Italy
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb)
Sport
CountryItaly
SportFencing
WeaponÉpée
Handleft-handed
National coachSandro Cuomo
ClubGS Forestale
Personal coachGianni Sperlinga
FIE rankingcurrent ranking
Medal record
Women's épée
Representing  Italy
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Individual
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Tokyo Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Kazan Individual
Gold medal – first place 2015 Moscow Individual
Silver medal – second place 2022 Cairo Team
Silver medal – second place 2023 Milan Team
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Catania Team
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Kazan Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Budapest Team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Cairo Individual
European Games
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Kraków–Małopolska Team
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2015 Montreux Individual
Silver medal – second place 2022 Antalya Individual
Silver medal – second place 2022 Antalya Team
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Strasbourg Team
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Montreux Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Düsseldorf Team
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Kraków Team

She is engaged to the Olympic gold medal swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri.[2]

Career edit

Fiamingo did ballet and rhythmic gymnastics as a child. She took up fencing when she was seven at the instigation of her father, who already drove her brother to a nearby fencing school, AS Methodos Catania.[3] She was taught by Gianni Sperlinga, who remains her personal coach as of today. In 2004, she was selected into the cadet Italian national team. She won the 2007 Cadet European Championships in Novi Sad, then the 2008 Cadet World Championships at home, in Acireale. She earned both the individual and team gold medals in 2009 and 2010 at the Junior European Championships, then she won the 2010 European U23 Championships in Gdańsk.

Fiamingo joined the national senior team in the 2010–11 season. At the 2011 European Championships in Sheffield she reached the quarter-finals, where she was defeated by teammate Nathalie Moellhausen.[4] The next season she climbed her first World Cup podium with a bronze medal in Doha, followed by a gold medal in Rio de Janeiro. Qualified to the 2012 Summer Olympics with the team, she was defeated 14–15 in the quarter-finals of the individual event by China's Sun Yujie.[5] In the team event, Italy were defeated in the first round by the United States, then lost to Romania in the ranking matches and finished seventh.

In the 2013–14 season Fiamingo won the World Championships, defeating along the way Olympic champions Yana Shemyakina and Britta Heidemann.[6] Rossella Fiamingo (ITA) won again women's individual épée at the 2015 world championships in Moscow to become the first woman to win back-to-back world titles in this event since Laura Flessel-Colovic (FRA) in 1998–1999. Fiamingo joined Flessel-Colovic (1998 and 1999) and Mariann Horvath (HUN, 1991 and 1992) as the only women with multiple world titles in this event. This was the third gold medal for Italy in this event, equalling France and Hungary on most wins. She in the 2014–2015 season also won the world cup. Fiamingo has a degree in pianoforte and studies nutrition at the University of Catania.[7]

She won the silver medal in the women's épée event at the 2022 European Fencing Championships held in Antalya, Turkey.[8] She won one of the bronze medals in the women's épée event at the 2022 World Fencing Championships held in Cairo, Egypt.[9]

Medal record edit

Olympic Games edit

Year Location Event Position
2016   Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Individual Women's Épée 2nd[10]
2021   Tokyo, Japan Team Women's Épée 3rd[11]

World Championship edit

Year Location Event Position
2011   Catania, Italy Team Women's Épée 3rd[12]
2014   Kazan, Russia Individual Women's Épée 1st[13]
2014   Kazan, Russia Team Women's Épée 3rd[14]
2015   Moscow, Russia Individual Women's Épée 1st[15]
2019   Budapest, Hungary Team Women's Épée 3rd[16]
2022   Cairo, Egypt Individual Women's Épée 3rd[17]
2022   Cairo, Egypt Team Women's Épée 2nd[18]

European Championship edit

Year Location Event Position
2014   Strasbourg, France Team Women's Épée 3rd[19]
2015   Montreux, Switzerland Individual Women's Épée 2nd[20]
2015   Montreux, Switzerland Team Women's Épée 3rd[21]
2019   Düsseldorf, Germany Team Women's Épée 3rd[22]
2022   Antalya, Turkey Individual Women's Épée 2nd[23]
2022   Antalya, Turkey Team Women's Épée 2nd[24]

Grand Prix edit

Date Location Event Position
2012-05-19   Havana, Cuba Individual Women's Épée 3rd[25]
2014-02-01   Budapest, Hungary Individual Women's Épée 3rd[26]
2017-03-24   Budapest, Hungary Individual Women's Épée 1st[27]

World Cup edit

Date Location Event Position
2011-02-12   Doha, Qatar Individual Women's Épée 2nd[28]
2012-02-11   Doha, Qatar Individual Women's Épée 3rd[29]
2012-05-04   Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Individual Women's Épée 1st[30]
2014-02-28   Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France Individual Women's Épée 2nd[31]
2019-03-22   Chengdu, China Individual Women's Épée 2nd[32]

References edit

  1. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. ^ "European swimming, Fiamingo and the first time live by Paltrinieri: 'I was much more tense than him ...'". taketonews.com. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  3. ^ Francesco Drago (11 June 2012). "Intervista esclusiva a Rossella Fiamingo" (in Italian). OlimpiAzzura.
  4. ^ "Moellhausen che peccato. La spada è di bronzo" (in Italian). Gasport. 16 July 2011.
  5. ^ "Rossella Fiamingo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  6. ^ Teobaldo Semoli (29 July 2014). "Rossella Fiamingo: brava, bella e semplice". Panorama (in Italian).
  7. ^ "Medaglie per la campionessa del mondo di spada Fiamingo e l'hockeista Mirabella". Bolletino d'Ateneo (in Italian). Università degli Studi di Catania. 27 August 2014.
  8. ^ Lloyd, Owen (18 June 2022). "Kharkova and Garozzo prevail in European Fencing Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  9. ^ Lloyd, Owen (18 July 2022). "Szilágyi and Song take historic wins at Fencing World Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  10. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  11. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  12. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  13. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  14. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  15. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  16. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  17. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  18. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  19. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  20. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  21. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  22. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  23. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  24. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  25. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  26. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  27. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  28. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  29. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  30. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  31. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  32. ^ "The International Fencing Federation". Retrieved 9 May 2021.

External links edit