Alberta Santuccio at Orientamenti: “Gender equality exists in fencing!”
Alberta Santuccio, 30 years old, from Catania, épée fencer of the Fiamme Oro sports group and the Italian national fencing team, was the main speaker today in the webinar organized by “Progettiamocilfuturo” as part of the Orientamenti project by the Liguria Region on the occasion of March 8th, International Women’s Day, dedicated to middle and high school students.
Alberta is an Olympic team champion in Paris 2024 and individual world vice-champion in Milan 2023. At the Olympic Games, she also won a team bronze medal in Tokyo 2020. On an individual level, she has also won a European bronze (in Basel 2024) and two World Cup competitions. Overall, she has reached the podium eight times in the world circuit. She also won individual silver and team gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010. In total, her record—between individual and team events, Senior and youth—boasts 1 gold, 3 silvers, and 3 bronzes at the World Championships, 7 golds, 2 silvers, and 3 bronzes at the European Championships, 8 golds, 4 silvers, and 2 bronzes at the Italian Championships. Married to physiotherapist Francesco Aragona, she holds a degree in Psychology.
A true sports star, she wanted to share her experience with hundreds of students, thanks to the collaboration of Stelle nello Sport, talking about her journey balancing school and sports and achieving her Olympic dream in a world—fencing—where gender equality truly exists.
“I stepped onto the piste at the age of 7, and today I am 30. It has been an extraordinary passion. My dream was to reach the Olympics, and I achieved it, but when I won gold in Paris, I felt an indescribable joy and emotion.”
Interviewed by Michele Corti, Alberta also answered students’ questions, which quickly followed. “In fencing, we train together with the boys, and it’s great for both us and them. Equality exists. Both in the salary we receive from our Military Sports Groups and in the prizes at national and international events. I still remember my first competition: I stepped onto the piste with the boys because there were no other girls. I finished second, and I remember that not all the boys were happy… But I must say that in my sport, we can truly say that gender equality exists, and in fact, we women in fencing have given Italy the most Olympic medals. A result we are proud of.”
The key word is “sacrifices”. Alberta explains the secret to success this way: “We must follow our passions, chase the dream, but we must also know that it takes a lot of commitment and sacrifices to achieve the best results. Fortunately, today even schools understand the importance of a sports career, and compared to my time, there are more opportunities to pursue both high-level sports and education. I earned a degree in psychology, and it was important for me to continue my studies despite my fencing career.”
She concluded with a message to the Ligurian students connected. “I look forward to seeing you all at the Palasport in Genoa from June 14 to 19 for the European Fencing Championships. It will be an extraordinary event. All the best athletes from the last Paris Olympics will be there, and for us, competing at home with the support of our fans will be an incredible emotion. It will be amazing!”
