Diletta Giampiccolo (born July 27, 1974, in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

) is a retired amateur Italian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's lightweight category. Considered one of Europe's top female freestyle wrestlers in her decade, Giampiccolo has claimed two gold medals at the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

(2001 and 2005), scored a silver in the 62-kg division at the

2001 World Wrestling Championships The following is the final results of the 2001 World Wrestling Championships. Freestyle competition were held in Sofia, Bulgaria and Greco-Roman competition were held in Patras, Greece. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, and also finished tenth at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, representing her nation

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Throughout her sporting career, Giampiccolo trained full-time for Polisportiva Mandraccio Wrestling Club in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

, under her personal coach Lucio Caneva. Giampiccolo reached sporting headlines at the

2001 Mediterranean Games The XIV Mediterranean Games ( ar, ألعاب البحر الأبيض المتوسط 2001), commonly known as the 2001 Mediterranean Games, were the 14th Mediterranean Games held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 2-15 September 2001, where 2,991 athletes ( ...

Tunis, Tunisia ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, where she picked up the gold medal in the women's 62 kg class. Two months later, she captured the silver in the same class at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Martigny Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octodurie ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, losing out to China's

Meng Lili Meng Lili (; born December 28, 1979, in Xintai, Tai'an, Shandong) is a female Chinese freestyle wrestler who competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), offic ...

by a 3–0 verdict. Her sporting success continued to flourish at the next two World Championships, but she left both tournaments empty handed with mediocre results. At the

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Giampiccolo qualified for the Italian squad in the women's 55 kg class. Earlier in the process, she finished second from the Olympic Qualification Tournament in

Tunis, Tunisia ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

to guarantee her place on the Italian wrestling team. She lost two straight matches each to China's Sun Dongmei with a 2–4 decision, and eventual Olympic champion

Saori Yoshida is a Japanese former freestyle wrestler. Starting in 1998 she won almost every major competition, including three Olympic Games, four Asian Games, and 13 world championships, and became the most decorated athlete in freestyle wrestling history. ...

of Japan on technical superiority that left her on the bottom of the prelim pool, placing eleventh in the final standings. With Puerto Rico's

Mabel Fonseca Mabel Fonseca Ramírez (born May 8, 1972 in Guantánamo, Cuba) is a retired amateur Puerto Rican freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's lightweight category. She produced a remarkable tally of four career medals; three of them were bron ...

being disqualified for failing the doping test on

stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American pharmaceuti ...

, Giampiccolo upgraded her position to tenth. In 2005, Giampiccolo campaigned her title defense in the women's lightweight category (59 kg) at the

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to cap off her sporting career, overpowering the host nation's Seba Jimenez in the process.

References

External links

Profile – International Wrestling Database
1974 births Living people Italian female sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Italy Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Catania World Wrestling Championships medalists Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Italy Competitors at the 2001 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in wrestling European Wrestling Championships medalists {{Italy-wrestling-bio-stub