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TALAMONA Arianna
Sport Para swimming
NPC Italy   
GenderWomen
Age27
Place of BirthMilan, ITA
Height1.70 m
Human Interest
Impairment Information
Type of Impairment
 Spinal Cord Injuries
Origin of Impairment
 Congenital
Classification
 S5, SB5, SM5
Further Personal Information
Family
 Partner Roberto Eguaglia
Residence
 Lissone, ITA
Occupation
 Athlete, Psychologist
Languages
 English, Italian
Higher education
 Psychology - University of Milano-Bicocca: Italy
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?
 She began swimming at age six. She started competing in 2009 at age 15 in Varese, Italy.
Why this sport?
 She got involved in the sport as a form of physical therapy. "Swimming helped me, it was my salvation. You get to know your body, its limits and also the benefit of being strong and in shape."
Club / Team
 Polha Varese [ITA] / GS Fiamme Azzurre [ITA]:
Senior International Debut
Year
 2011
Competing for
 Italy
Tournament
 European Championship
Location
 Berlin, GER
General Interest
Hobbies
 Fashion, make-up, reading, psychology, diamond painting. (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019; tokyo2020.org, 17 Apr 2020)
Memorable sporting achievement
 Winning gold in the S5 50m butterfly at the 2019 World Championships in London, England. (superabile.it, 12 Jun 2020)
Hero / Idol
 Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu. (nuotounostiledivita.it, 09 Apr 2020)
Sporting philosophy / motto
 "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." (Athlete, 09 Sep 2019)
Awards and honours
 In 2018 she received the Excellent Student Athlete Award from the Italian National Olympic Committee [CONI]. (varesenews.it, 02 May 2018)
Ambitions
 To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (Instagram profile, 14 Mar 2021)
Impairment
 She was born with hereditary spastic paraplegia, also known as Strumpell-Lorrain disease. (quotidiano.net, 08 Mar 2018; gazzetta.it, 01 May 2016)
Other information
 FASHION BLOGGING
She writes a fashion and lifestyle blog, in which she discusses fashion for people with impairments. "I have always liked colours and fabrics. I am not good at designing or modelling, but I found my artistic side in what to wear. Through the years I realised some girls would ask me for tips, and I thought I could influence people. I thought a blog about fashion and disability could be the right tool to transmit my passion and for helping other people. I want to help women with a disability to dress well, to feel more beautiful, to be more confident about themselves and to express their personality." (Facebook profile, 28 Jan 2021; abilitychannel.tv, 22 Jan 2018, 04 Sep 2018; vanityfair.it, 20 Nov 2017)

VOICE FOR CHANGE
As part of her psychology course at the University of Milano-Bicocca she completed a study on couples in which one or both partners have an impairment. She hopes to use her profile as an athlete to make society more inclusive for people with an impairment. "There are too many false myths, beliefs that I try to dispel. For example, it is not thought that a person with an impairment can have a love life, but this is absolutely not the case. I have an impairment but I am perfectly healthy. I can do everything, I can be as beautiful as anyone else. The more we make normal what is different, the easier it becomes to accept people with an impairment. Institutions should work harder to make the world more inclusive. A few things are being done, of course, but still not enough." (vanityfair.it, 16 Jul 2020; it.mashable.com, 01 Jul 2020)

EARLY DAYS
She says she struggled to deal with her impairment during a period of middle school when she was forced to use her wheelchair more often. "I was unfortunate at school in the sense that I have had bad experiences. In middle school I had some bullying incidents, which added to the fact I was in a transition because I was starting to use the wheelchair a lot more. That was already [a] delicate [situation] because I had to accept the fact that being different becomes even more evident. Fortunately my friends helped a lot but it took some time. In high school, from around age 15 to the end I learned to love myself a little." (CheClasse YouTube channel, 10 Feb 2020)

PHOTO SHOOT
In 2019 she was featured in an exhibition by Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani entitled 'Naked. Disability Without Adjectives'. The exhibition featured several Para athletes who posed naked, and was presented at the 2019 Paralympic Culture Festival in Padua, Italy. "I went through several phases. There and then I said, 'Yes, okay, I'll do it'. Then I thought, 'Oh god, what did I do'. I asked for information and in the end I went. The moment I had to get naked, I was very scared, also because I had to do it in front of strangers. Then, when Oliviero started shooting, I felt that we were all the same, it was very liberating. Indeed, it was an experience that helped me to accept myself as I am." (repubblica.it, 27 Dec 2019)

Competition Highlights (historical)
Paralympic Games (Overall)
Rank Year Event Result
Heats 2016 100m Backstroke S7 1:33.46
6 2016 200m Individual Medley SM7 3:16.97 
7 2016 400m Freestyle S7 5:48.37
Heats 2016 100m Breaststroke SB6 1:52.14
14 2021 50m Freestyle S6 38.89
2 2021 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 20 Points  
5 2021 100m Breaststroke SB5 1:43.83
World Championships
Rank Year Event Result
7 2013 400m Freestyle S7 6:04.74
8 2013 100m Breaststroke SB6 1:53.80
6 2013 100m Backstroke S7 1:34.59
4 2013 4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points 3:29.61
6 2013 200m Individual Medley SM7 3:40.52
4 2019 50m Freestyle S5 38.85
2 2019 200m Freestyle S5 2:51.43
2 2019 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 20 Points 2:22.40
1 2019 50m Butterfly S5 45.62
1 2019 200m Individual Medley SM5 3:19.62
Heats 2019 50m Backstroke S5  DSQ
2 2019 100m Freestyle S5 1:22.49
European Championships
Rank Year Event Result
3 2014 400m Freestyle S7 5:45.29
6 2014 50m Freestyle S7 37.71
2 2014 200m Individual Medley SM7 3:26.11
4 2014 100m Backstroke S7 1:33.67
5 2014 100m Freestyle S7 1:19.00
3 2014 4 x 50m Medley Relay 20 Points 3:16.87
6 2014 50m Butterfly S7 50.11
3 2014 100m Breaststroke SB6 1:54.83
3 2016 100m Backstroke S7 1:32.79
5 2016 50m Butterfly S7 45.68
1 2016 200m Individual Medley SM7 3:19.76
4 2016 100m Breaststroke SB6 1:51.73
3 2016 400m Freestyle S7 5:41.46
4 2016 100m Freestyle S7 1:20.17
5 2016 50m Freestyle S7 38.37
9 2018 200m Freestyle S5 2:56.23
4 2018 100m Breaststroke SB5 1:54.00
4 2018 100m Backstroke S6 1:31.16
8 2018 50m Butterfly S6 46.76
1 2018 4 x 50m Freestyle Relay 20 Points 2:22.87
9 2018 100m Freestyle S6 1:24.14
7 2021 100m Backstroke S6 1:33.78