San Giorgio a Cremano. Alessandra Vitale, captain of the national Paralympic Sitting Volleyball team and Italian ambassador to the Tokyo Paralympics, returned to her hometown of San Giorgio a Cremano, welcomed by Mayor Giorgio Zinno and the Sports Councillor, Maria Tarallo.
It was the Mayor himself who gave her an award, on behalf of the entire administration, for the tenacity, strength and talent she demonstrated in the Games in Japan and more generally in life. After having her right leg amputated, following her second pregnancy, her life has been marked by inevitable obstacles, which she has overcome thanks to her tenacity and the will to be an example for others.
This was also the case during the Games in Japan, “When – she herself said – she managed to drag the team to the final competition, even in moments of tiredness and discouragement”, thanks to her strong character and her exuberance.
Since the amputation of her limb, “being an example” has become almost a mission for the athlete from San Giorgio. “Alessandra is an extraordinary woman,” said Mayor Zinno, “of whom our community can be truly proud. During today’s passionate conversation, we have already promised to schedule meetings in schools so that, by telling her story, she can demonstrate that difficulties can also become opportunities if faced with courage and determination.”
Alessandra grew up in San Giorgio a Cremano, where she first attended IC Massaia and then ITI Medi, and then enrolled at the Federico II University where she graduated in Mathematics. Born in 1971, after the amputation of her limb, in 2014 she started playing sitting volleyball in Nola and in 2015 she was called up to the National team.
Before the pandemic hit the world, she had already earned a historic pass to the Tokyo Paralympic Games, where she arrived with the other girls, after winning the silver medal at the 2019 European Championships in Budapest. In the same year, she was also named Ambassador of Paralympic Sport. At the Paralympics, with the National Team, she achieved sixth place.
Article published on 16 September 2021 - 21:02
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