Athlete

Italian

Corpo Libero Gymnastics Padova: Italy

Michela Francia [club]; Enrico Casella [national], ITA

She fractured one of her big toes and was unable to compete at the 2018 European Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. (oasport.it, 27 Jul 2018)

She took up the sport in Capo d'Orlando, Italy.

To become a coach once her sporting career is over. (sportface.it, 06 Mar 2018)

Coach Michela Francia. (sportface.it, 06 Mar 2018)

LEAVING HOME
At age 12 she left her hometown in Sicily, Italy, and relocated to Milan in order to train at the Federal Technical Centre. "The experience in Milan was a huge opportunity at the time. It was a not an easy choice, leaving home at just 12, to be far away from my parents in Sicily. But I did not want to miss out on the opportunity so I left and that's how I started to follow my own path." (sportface.it, 06 Mar 2018)

ILLNESS
She has the inherited condition thalassemia, which means the body produces an abnormal amount of haemoglobin. The illness came to a head while she was training at the Federal Technical Centre in Milan, Italy, and resulted in a number of physical problems that kept her out of competition for almost a year. She considered retiring from the sport, but in 2015 she was persuaded to persevere by coach Michela Francia. "[She] called me to join Corpo Libero Gymnastics Team in Padua [Italy]. That pushed me on to get rid of those negative thoughts and continue my career." (sportface.it, 06 Mar 2018)