Daniel Garozzo star of the Italian fencing, twice Olympic champion a Rio 2016 e Tokyo 2020, where he has just won the silver medal for men's foil, is born in Catania and it's originally from Acireale.
Born in Catania on August 4th, 1992, Daniele Garozzo immediately showed his love for fencing, sharing it with his older brother Enrico, also an Olympic champion who competes in the team epee specialty. Daniele, watching D'Artagnan and Zorro and following his brother, began to dedicate himself to this sport in Acireale Fencing Club with maestro Domenico Patti.
Daniele has developed admirably: year after year, thrust after thrust. As a boy, he was the only fencer in his gym, so much so that his father took him to Modica to train twice a week. A huge sacrifice for him and his family, but one that yielded great results.
Gradually, Daniele collects his first successes since 2008. In 2015 he conquers the Silver medal at the European Championship, followed by the Gold medal in team foil at the World Championships in Moscow; follows the participation in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
All 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Daniele conquers the Gold medal beating champion Alexander Massialas. The gold medal against Massialas brings Italy a result it had missed for over twenty years. A great success, the fruit of skill, training, and sacrifice. Daniele soars to the top.
The blow came on October 10, 2017, in Rome: Daniele underwent double surgery on his right lung, forcing him into a long recovery. After recovering, he took up the sword again.
Here are the titles he manages to put in his personal loot: European champion, a bronze at the World Championships in Leipzig and a team gold. In 2018 he took part in the European Championships and brought home two silver medalsAt the ill-fated Tokyo 2021 Olympics, held these days due to the forced stoppage caused by the pandemic, Daniele showed up as the reigning Olympic champion, attempting a historic feat: he was seeking a second consecutive gold medal in individual foil.
Daniele Garozzo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
It started theOlympic After beating the Egyptian Hassan, he went on to clash with the Japanese Mitsuyama, then defeating the Frenchman Enzo Lefort to face the Japanese Shikine in the semifinals. Garozzo gave life to a series of spectacular matches and practically perfectDuring these performances, pain in my right thigh occurred.
The athlete from Catania, specifically from Acireale, lost to China's Cheung, relinquishing the championship title and earning the silver medal with bitterness and disappointment due to pain in his right thigh, which worsened during the final. This injury hindered his performance and cost him the gold medal.
Garozzo's is the medal number 9 of Italy to Tokyo 2020 and the second in fencing after that of Samele in the sabre.
Il blue medal table This year hasn't been as successful as expected. The very sport that has consistently guaranteed Italy victories at the Olympic Games in recent years has experienced a sort of crisis. No podium finishes for fellow Catania native and champion Rossella Fiamingo, which instead she obtained with the women's epee team, together with the other Catanian Alberta Santuccio, the bronze medal.
A Sicilian champion "made in Catania"
Daniele Garozzo, besides advertising, cultivates other passions and hobbies. He studies successfully and profitably. Medicine and Surgery atTor Vergata University of Rome and is about to discuss his thesis. He is active in the Yellow Flames, He lives and trains in Frascati. He often returns to Sicily, where he continues to maintain a close bond.
Since 2016 he has been engaged to Alice Volpi, also a fencer and Italian foil champion. Volpi, too, in this edition of the Olympic Games, left the Azzurri without medals in the specialty after 33 years.
Daniele loves animals and looks after the dog with his girlfriend. Forrest. He often takes them with him to Sicily. Here you can see them among the stacks, or on theEtnaAnyone who follows him on social media will have noticed the irony, passion, and sarcasm he puts into everything he shares with his followers.
An athlete to be proud of
In total, Daniele boasts many triumphs in his medal collection. The hopes placed in him are as high as the pride of the people of Acea to count among their ranks the talented Italian foil fencer who will bring us even more wonderful experiences. Daniele has become a legend in Italian fencing: no Italian foil fencer since the postwar period has managed to repeat this fencing feat with a second medal beyond the gold medal. Sicilian, Catanian, and Acese talent and pride!
Cover photo source: AUGUSTO BIZZI
