Italian Champions Our Athletic Heroes

Alex Zanardi Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi is an Italian racing driver and paracyclist living in Noventa, Padua. He won two CART championship titles in North America during the late 1990s. He also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver. More recently, he has attracted widespread praise for his return to competition in the aftermath of a crash in 2001 that resulted in the amputation of his legs. He returned to racing less than two years after the accident, competing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship for BMW Team Italy-Spain between 2003 and 2009. Switching sports, Zanardi took up competition in handbiking, a form of paralympic cycling, with the stated goal of representing Italy at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. In September 2011, Zanardi won his first senior international handbiking medal, the silver medal in the H4 (handbike) category time trial at the UCI World Road Para-Cycling Championships. In September 2012 he won gold medals at the London Paralympics in the individual H4 time trial and the individual H4 road race, followed by a silver medal in the mixed H1-4 team relay. On 11 September 2012 he was included by International Paralympic Committee into the London 2012 Top 12 performances list.

Marco Galiazzo Marco Galiazzo (born 7 May 1983, living in Padua) is an athlete from Italy. He competes in archery for C.S. Aeronautica Militare. Galiazzo (center in center podium) Men's Archery Olympic Games Gold 2012 London Team, Gold 2004 Athens Individual, Silver 2008 Beijing Team.

Federica Pellegrini Federica Pellegrini (born 5 August 1988) is an Italian swimmer. A native of Mirano, in the Venitian Region, she holds the women's 200 m freestyle (long course and short course) and 400 m (long course) freestyle world record, but finished fifth in both events at the London 2012 Olympics. At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, Pellegrini became the first woman ever to breach the 4 minute barrier in 400 m freestyle with the time 3:59.15. Pellegrini is the first female Olympic champion in the history of Italian swimming; she is also the only Italian swimmer to have set world records in more than one event.

Valentina Vezzali Valentina Vezzali  was born 14 February 1974 . She is an Italian fencer who has won six Olympic gold medals in foil competitions. Together with the German shooter Ralf Schumann, the Slovak slalom canoeist Michal Martikán and the Japanese female judoka Ryoko Tani, is one of only four athletes in the history of the Summer Olympic Games to have won five medals in the same individual event.

Vanessa Ferrari Vanessa Ferrari (born 10 November 1990) is an Italian artistic gymnast. She is the 2006 World All Around Champion and competed for her country at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics ( bronze medal).

Jessica Rossi Jessica Rossi (born 7 January 1992) is a female Italian sport shooter. She won the gold medal in the Women's Trap event at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she scored a world record of 75 in the qualification and a world record of 99 in the final.

Daniele Molmenti Daniele Molmenti (born 1 August 1984 in Pordenone) is an Italian slalom canoer who has competed since the late 1990s. On 1 August 2012, his 28th birthday, he won the gold medal in the men's kayak slalom at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Molmenti also finished tenth in the K-1 event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He won five medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with a gold (K-1: 2010), two silvers (K-1 team: 2005, 2006), and two bronzes (K-1 team: 2010, 2011). Molmenti is also the European Champion from 2009, 2011 and 2012. He also has 2 silver and 2 bronze medals from the European Championships. In 2010 he won the overall World Cup title in K-1.

Rosalba Forciniti Rosalba Forciniti (born in Cosenza, 13 February 1986) is an Italian judoka. She won the bronze medal in 52 kg category at the 2012 Summer Olympics, she is the first Calabrian woman ever to reach the podium at the Olympic Games.

Clemente Russo Born July 27, 1982, he is a Medal Record Men's Boxing. Competitor for  Italy in the Olympic Games, is Silver in 2012. Russo works as a policeman and comes from Campania. In the World Series of Boxing he boxes for “Italia Thunder Team”. He received the "Winner WSB Heavyweight Individual World Champion 2011" and the "Winner WSB Team World Champion 2012“ awards.

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