Fencing towards the European Championships in Genoa 2025 – Paralympic champion Rossana Pasquino met with students at the Science Festival with Stelle nello Sport and Orientamenti.

A special lesson for Ligurian students took place today at the Science Festival during the webinar organized by Stelle nello Sport and Orientamenti, featuring guest of honor Rossana Pasquino, the reigning European individual champion in Paralympic fencing in both sabre and épée.

Rossana represented the Italian fencing movement, a discipline that will take center stage in Genoa from June 14 to 19 next year for the 2025 Absolute European Championships in Olympic fencing, an extraordinary event whose final stages will be hosted in the new Palasport.

Rossana Pasquino was nine years old when a sudden spinal infarction caused her to lose the use of her legs. A child who quickly became a woman of great courage, she never blamed fate; she simply thought she had to react. Today, she shared her challenges with a large audience of students.

“I used to think about tomorrow: what can I do tomorrow to take one more small step? You move forward in small steps, one at a time, day after day, thinking about how to do simple things and then gradually more complex ones,” Rossana said, recalling her childhood. “I started by telling myself: tomorrow I will try to manage my school day. And so, every day, as I grew older, I told myself how to go out with friends, move to Naples, study away from home, facing the same problems as a person who can walk. Then university, travels…”

Reacting is not easy. “You do it, not without fear. Once, I even broke a femur… but you do it, because that’s life! Stepping out of your comfort zone. And it also means failing! Because I have failed too, not without being afraid of it. The challenge is to put yourself out there, and you can never know how far you will go.”

Rossana and sport. “Usually, the Paralympics are the ultimate goal, but for me, they never were. But appetite comes with eating, and when I won a world bronze medal in Korea in 2019, I started to believe in it. If you put great effort into small things, then the big ones will come too.”

Her story is not just an inspiration for young people but also a message about sport in general, an inclusive one. She had returned from Crete to Naples at the end of 2011 after winning a permanent research position, and after many years, she had to get used to the city again. “My friend Francesca Boscarelli, a well-known épée fencer, told me there was an opportunity to try fencing.”

She decided to give it a go, also to change her evening routine. A whole new world opened up for her. She started for fun, discovered friendships, a social life, and also what her body was capable of. She realized that, just like in studying, even one hour, if of good quality, was enough to achieve great results. As she pointed out: “All the sacrifices I made were not really sacrifices; I did them willingly, never aiming for the Paralympic Games, which eventually came anyway. Balancing sport and work has helped me; the two things are not only doable but necessary.”

She then wanted to give something back in return. Now an established champion, she brought young people from Benevento to the gym, allowing them to rebuild their bodies through Paralympic fencing. Regarding this, she quoted Elio Germano: “Ambitions are small when they are personal, and they are great when they involve the community.”

She did this in reference to the team spirit with which her teammates faced the bronze medal match after narrowly missing victory. She thanked them—Bebe Vio, Andreea Mogoș, and Loredana Trigilia—with these words: “They taught me never to give up, to focus on the next match, to never regret anything, to never blame anyone, and to always look forward. Thank you, girls.”

A truly valuable lesson in sport and life. Genoa has discovered the grit, determination, and passion of Rossana Pasquino and now awaits her for a new challenge: the 2025 European Championships in the Ligurian capital. The city has been preparing for this event for some time, first with the Italian Youth and Cadet Championships, hosted at Jean Nouvel from May 24 to 26, 2024, and then with important promotional events.

From “Scherma in Piazza” in Chiavari (Saturday, September 21) to the following events at SportAbility Day (Saturday, September 28), in Portofino with “Scherma in Piazzetta,” and at the Caruggiadi. These are high-profile events with significant public participation, particularly in Chiavari and Portofino, thanks to the presence of Paris 2024 champions Giulia Rizzi, Filippo Macchi, and Guillaume Bianchi, who will deliver spectacular touches in relay matches alongside the best Ligurian talents.