The Italian will be one of the attractions of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
An example of resilience. Béatrice Vio, alias “Bebe” is a hyper star all over the world and in the world of fencing where she is a multiple medalist. In November 2008, at the age of 11, the family was subjected to a terrible ordeal. Suffering from severe meningitis, Bebe, victim of a serious blood infection, had to have both legs and both forearms amputated. She also saw necrosis appear on her body.
Among the very best in the world from a young age, the athlete did not let herself be defeated and resumed sport after three months of hospitalization and a year of rehabilitation. Thanks to prostheses specially created for her by her father and specialists from Bologna, which allowed her to hold a foil, she was able to resume her career and has since achieved feats in her discipline.
At just 27 years old, the young woman has won four world champion titles, five gold medals at the European championships, and two Paralympic gold medals, at the Rio Games in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020. She is aiming for gold again at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In any case, she is showing great ambition, as evidenced by her Instagram post a few months ago where she states: “I will not participate in the Paralympic Games. I will be in competition during the Paris Paralympic Games (…) Paralympians are often portrayed by the media as participants, not competitors. For Paris 2024, it is time to set the record straight.”
Beyond sport, the Italian also founded the Bebe Vio Academy, an inclusive program that aims to promote Paralympic sport and make sport accessible to all.