"Bebe" is now 19 years old. When she was 11, her limbs had to be amputated as a result of complications due to meningitis. Immediately after the operation, instead of giving up, she returned to her studies and resumed training in her favourite sport, fencing. She became the first disabled fencer in the world to compete with four artificial implants. Since 2011 she has won every major fencing tournament, including National, European and World Championships.
She was torchbearer at the Paralympics in London 2012. In Rio she won gold in the individual foil category B, but the medal that gives her most satisfaction is the bronze, because it was obtained along with her teammates in the women's foil: "The important thing is that we enjoyed ourselves, this is our medal and it is beautiful, it's wonderful to win it with the team. This means more to me than the gold medal. During the competition I was thinking of this fantastic story and I told myself that we could not end up with a defeat," she said.
"Bebe is a golden girl also out of competition. She has known the Salesians since childhood at the Astori oratory in Mogliano, Veneto, in the province of Treviso. She has just done her final examinations in Graphic arts and communication after five years at the Salesian Institute of San Marco in Mestre. For the examination she presented a paper on the possibility of the Olympics being held in Rome in 2024. According to the website, “Amici di Don Bosco” all in San Marco will retain a wonderful memory of her.
