DI FRANCISCA Elisa

Personal Information

Family Husband Ivan Villa, sons Ettore [2017] and Brando [2021]

Languages Italian

License number 13121982001

Club

Upcoming Events

Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? She began fencing at age seven in Jesi, Italy. There is a strong tradition of fencing in the town.

Why this sport? She took up the sport with her sister. "I did dance for a couple of years but, honestly, I didn't have a great feeling about it. It was too calm, I needed more movement."

Handedness Right

General Interest

Memorable sporting achievement Winning her fifth individual European title in 2019. (mammatleta.it, 20 Jun 2019)

Hero / Idol Italian fencer Giovanna Trillini, Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini, US boxer Muhammad Ali. (gqitalia.it, 18 Oct 2011)

Sporting philosophy / motto "Those who avoid passion and don't risk their own safety for the uncertainty of a dream slowly die." [Pablo Neruda] (elisadifrancisca.it, 21 Mar 2014)

Other information RETIREMENT
In December 2021 she announced her retirement from the sport. "I'm retiring, for now, yes. With two children it is very difficult and it is not right for them, even if the challenge of getting back into the sport would interest me a lot." (ilsussidiario.net, 04 Dec 2021)

MOTHERHOOD
In November 2020 she revealed that she was pregnant with her second child and would not compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "The Olympics does not depend on me, but a child does. And with children, you have to be there. Now, I will nurse, I will raise my children, I will watch the [Olympic] Games on television without regrets. I chose a child, it didn't choose me. There is no going back. Faced with the uncertainty of an Olympics still in the balance, I decided to cling to the values taught to me by my parents and my family, and to believe in a better world." (vanityfair.it, 02 Nov 2020)