Enzo Masiello (born 5 March 1969) is an Italian Paralympic cross-country skier and biathlete who also formerly competed as a long distance runner at the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

. He has competed at the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

in 6 occasions representing Italy both at the

(

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

) and at the

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

(

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

). Enzo is also the first Italian male athlete to win a medal both at the

and in the

. He was a recipient of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, which is one of the highest honours to be given in the nation.

Biography

Enzo Masiello confronted with

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

following a traffic accident at the age of 18 which persuaded him to take the sport of wheelchair athletics.

Career

After the tragic accident he faced during his teenage, he took the sport of Paralympic athletics and started to compete in 1990 before switching to skiing in 2004 following his success at the Para athletics. He decided to compete in skiing as a new challenge and got the opportunity to represent Italy at the 2006 Winter Paralympics after ending his Summer Paralympics career in 2000.

Summer Paralympics

He made his first Paralympic appearance for Italy at the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

and was successful in his maiden Summer Paralympic event after claiming a bronze medal in the men's 5000m category, which is also his only medal at the Paralympic athletics. He also went onto compete at the

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympic Games, Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games ...

and in the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

but went medalless in both of the multi-sport events.

Winter Paralympics

After representing Italy at the Summer Paralympics in 3 previous editions, he switched to participate at the Winter Paralympics and qualified to compete with the

2006 Winter Paralympics The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games ( it, Giochi paralimpici invernali del 2006), the ninth Paralympic Winter Games, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were ...

, where he couldn't claim any medal in his maiden Winter Paralympics event. Enzo Masiello managed to clinch his first Winter Paralympic medals (a silver and a bronze medal) at the

2010 Winter Paralympics ) , nations = 44 , athletes = 506 , events = 64 in 5 sports , opening = 12 March , closing = 21 March , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Zach Beaumont , stadium = BC Place , winter_pr ...

. He was the flagbearer for Italy at the closing ceremony during the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masiello, Enzo 1969 births Living people Italian wheelchair racers Italian male cross-country skiers Italian male biathletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Cross-country skiers at the 2006 Winter Paralympics Cross-country skiers at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Cross-country skiers at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Biathletes at the 2010 Winter Paralympics Biathletes at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Paralympic athletes for Italy Paralympic cross-country skiers for Italy Paralympic biathletes for Italy Paralympic silver medalists for Italy Paralympic bronze medalists for Italy Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Paralympics People from Matera Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in cross-country skiing Sportspeople from the Province of Matera