Andrea Cionna
Andrea Cionna (born 1968)[1] is an Italian athlete from Osimo[2] in the Province of Ancona. He holds the world record for the fastest marathon run by a totally blind man, set in 2:31:59 in Rome in 2007,[3][4] and has won two bronze medals in blind long-distance running at the Paralympic Games.[5]
Andrea Cionna (left) running with his sighted guide | ||
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Track and field (T11) | ||
Representing Italy | ||
Paralympic Games | ||
2004 Athens | 10000 m | |
2004 Athens | Marathon |
Biography
Cionna first competed at the Paralympic Games in 2004, entering two long-distance events and running with a sighted guide. In the 10,000 metres T11 event for totally blind runners, he finished third in 33:59.98, winning the bronze medal, behind Kenya's Henry Wanyoike (gold) and Portugal's Carlos Amaral Ferreira (silver). In the T11 marathon, he also finished third, in 2:49:59, behind Japan's Yuichi Takahashi (gold), and Portugal's Carlos Ferreira (silver).[5]
He competed again at the Paralympics in 2008, a year after setting a world record in the blind marathon. At the 2008 Paralympics, however, the T11 marathon had been abolished as a separate event, and athletes categorised T11 (totally blind) ran in the same marathon as athletes categorised T12 (partially sighted). Cionna ran fastest of the blind athletes, setting a Paralympic record for his category in 2:36:43, but he finished the race in seventh place, behind six runners categorised T12. The marathon was the only event he entered; the 10,000 metre race was now also a T12 event.[5]
References
- List of IPC world records in the marathon, International Paralympic Committee
- SuperAbile INAIL, Sport - Andrea Cionna e quell'oro scippato: 'Se ci ripenso...'.
- List of IPC world records in the marathon, International Paralympic Committee
- "Campione del mondo! Record di Andrea Cionna alla maratona" Archived 2012-08-01 at Archive.today, Noi Giornalista, March 21, 2007
- Results for Andrea Cionna from the International Paralympic Committee (archived)
External links
- Andrea Cionna at the International Paralympic Committee (also here)