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Biography
Impairment information
Type of Impairment
Vision impairment
Origin of Impairment
Congenital
Classification
S13, SB13, SM13
Further personal information
Residence
Moncalieri, ITA
Occupation
Police Athlete
Languages
Italian
Higher education
Psychology - University of Turin: Italy
Sport specific information
When and where did you begin this sport?
She began swimming with non-disabled swimmers at age nine in Turin, Italy, and took up Para swimming in 2017.
Why this sport?
She was taken to a pool by her parents for health reasons. "Swimming is my life. I can't imagine a life without swimming, training, going to competitions and being with my team."
Club / Team
Rari Nantes Torino [ITA] / GS Fiamme Oro [ITA]:
Name of coach
Andrea Grassini [Torino, national], ITA
International debut
Year
2017
Competing for
Italy
Tournament
World Championships
Location
Mexico City, MEX
General interest
Nicknames
Il Delfino di Muncale [The Dolphin of Moncalieri], Wonder Gilli (ispirazionerosa.it, 18 Feb 2018; ethicsport.it, 19 Nov 2020)
Hobbies
Skiing. (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)
Most influential person in career
Her family and her friends. (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019; Facebook profile, 06 Apr 2019)
Hero / Idol
Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini. (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)
Awards and honours
In 2017, 2019 and 2021 she was the recipient of the Collare d'Oro al Merito Sportivo, the highest honour awarded by the Italian National Olympic Committee [CONI]. (gds.it, 20 Dec 2021; Instagram profile, 20 Dec 2021; Facebook page, 24 Feb 2020; finp.it, 19 Dec 2017; rarinantestorino.com, 17 Dec 2019)
In 2021 she received the Award of Excellence for Sport and was featured in the 100 Italian Excellences, an annual book of 100 stories released by the RDE publishing house in Italy. (Instagram profile, 21 Dec 2021; redazionenews.it, 17 Dec 2021)
In 2019 and 2021 she was named Piedmontese Athlete of the Year in Italy, as voted for by sports journalists. (nuoto.com, 07 Dec 2021; finp.it, 10 Dec 2019)
She was voted Best Female Swimmer at the 2019 World Championships in London, England. (paralympic.org, 01 Oct 2019)
In January 2018 she received the Sports Scroll from the city of Turin, Italy. (torinoclick.it, 17 Jan 2018)
She was named the 2017 Piedmontese of the Year by the readers of news website Quotidiano Piemontese. (quotidianopiemontese.it, 29 Jan 2018)
In 2021 she received the Award of Excellence for Sport and was featured in the 100 Italian Excellences, an annual book of 100 stories released by the RDE publishing house in Italy. (Instagram profile, 21 Dec 2021; redazionenews.it, 17 Dec 2021)
In 2019 and 2021 she was named Piedmontese Athlete of the Year in Italy, as voted for by sports journalists. (nuoto.com, 07 Dec 2021; finp.it, 10 Dec 2019)
She was voted Best Female Swimmer at the 2019 World Championships in London, England. (paralympic.org, 01 Oct 2019)
In January 2018 she received the Sports Scroll from the city of Turin, Italy. (torinoclick.it, 17 Jan 2018)
She was named the 2017 Piedmontese of the Year by the readers of news website Quotidiano Piemontese. (quotidianopiemontese.it, 29 Jan 2018)
Other sports
She has taken part in national level life-saving competitions in Italy. She has also competed in Para open water swimming at national level in Italy. (gazzetta.it, 12 Apr 2018; futura.news, 01 Dec 2017; rarinantestorino.com, 21 Sep 2020)
Impairment
She has Stargardt disease, an inherited vision impairment. (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)
Other information
COMPETITION OVER TRAINING
She says she favours competing rather than training and has taken part in non-disabled swimming competitions in Italy. "I like this balance very, very much. I started out competing only with them [non-disabled swimmers] and then I arrived in the Paralympic world. So I think that personally it's very, very important that I continue to compete there because I can watch those athletes in competition [and] how they prepare. I really like doing the competitions and I don't really like the training, so I always do a lot of competitions throughout the year. Friends think that I'm crazy and sometimes say, 'Come on, just relax for a weekend', but I say that I prefer doing competitions. When I have the opportunity to compete, I go for it." (paralympic.org, 30 May 2019)
She says she favours competing rather than training and has taken part in non-disabled swimming competitions in Italy. "I like this balance very, very much. I started out competing only with them [non-disabled swimmers] and then I arrived in the Paralympic world. So I think that personally it's very, very important that I continue to compete there because I can watch those athletes in competition [and] how they prepare. I really like doing the competitions and I don't really like the training, so I always do a lot of competitions throughout the year. Friends think that I'm crazy and sometimes say, 'Come on, just relax for a weekend', but I say that I prefer doing competitions. When I have the opportunity to compete, I go for it." (paralympic.org, 30 May 2019)
Results
| Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's 100 m Backstroke S13 | Final 1 | 2017-12-02 | 1 | |
| Women's 100 m Freestyle S13 | Final 1 | 2017-12-03 | 1 | |
| Women's 100 m Butterfly S13 | Final 1 | 2017-12-04 | 1 | |
| Women's 400 m Freestyle S13 | Heat 1 | 2017-12-05 | 2 | |
| Women's 50 m Freestyle S13 | Final 1 | 2017-12-05 | 1 | |
| Women's 400 m Freestyle S13 | Final 1 | 2017-12-05 | 2 | |
| Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM13 | Heat 1 | 2017-12-06 | 1 | |
| Women's 200 m Individual Medley SM13 | Final 1 | 2017-12-06 | 1 |
