Gianfranco Iannotta (born January 24, 1994) is an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete.

Early life and education

Iannotta was born to parents Franco and Luz Iannotta on January 24, 1994. He was born with spina bifida and was paralyzed from the waist down upon birth. Iannotta graduated from Garfield High School in 2012.

Career

Iannotta made his national debut with Team USA at the

2011 Parapan American Games The 4th Parapan American Games took place from November 12 to 20 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Games are an international multi-sport event for athletes with a physical disability. The Games were held 20 days after the 2011 Pan American Games beg ...

. As a result of his success, he was invited to the qualifying rounds for the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

but failed to qualify for the final roster to London. After his high school graduation, Iannotta was selected to compete with Team USA at the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, ...

. He won a bronze medal in the 100 meter race, and a silver medal in the 200m. Three years later, Iannotta made his

Paralympic Games 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 impaire ...

debut during the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

. He earned Team USA's first 2016 Paralympic gold medal in track with a time of 17.17 seconds, beating the previous medalist Raymond Martin. Iannotta ended the Games with a bronze medal in the 400-meter race. The following year, he was named to Team USAs roster for the

2017 World Para Athletics Championships The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 to 23 July 2017. It wa ...

, where he won a bronze medal in the men’s T52 100. Iannotta later took home a gold medal in the men's 100m T52 wheelchair event at the 2019 World Para Athletics Grand Prix with a time of 17.19. Due to his success, Iannotta was selected to compete with Team USA at the

2019 World Para Athletics Championships The 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic track and field event organised by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 7 to 15 November 2019 ...

. At these championships he won the silver medal in the men's 100 metres T52 event and he qualified to represent the

United States at the 2020 Summer Paralympics The United States competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan from 24 August to 5 September 2021. Medalists Archery Eric Bennett, Lia Coryell, Kevin Mather, KJ Polish, Emma Rose Ravish, Andre Shelby and Matt Stutzman have all ...

References

1994 births Living people Garfield High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Garfield, New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Passaic, New Jersey Track and field athletes from New Jersey Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics People with spina bifida Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic track and field athletes of the United States Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics American people of Italian descent {{US-sprint-athletics-bio-stub