MINUTO Martino

Personal Information

Occupation Athlete

Languages English, German, Italian, Turkish

Higher education Economics, Management - Niccolo Cusano University: Rome, ITA

License number 07041988001

Club

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Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He began fencing at age five in Monza, Italy.

Why this sport? He often played with swords in the house as a child, inspired by 'D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers'. His parents took him to a fencing club, even though he was below the minimum age to join.

Handedness Right

General Interest

Nicknames Marti (Athlete, 22 May 2019)

Hobbies Spending time with family and friends, alpine skiing, windsurfing, surfing. (Athlete, 22 May 2019)

Memorable sporting achievement Winning individual gold at both the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, People's Republic of China, and the 2007 World Junior Championships in Belek, Turkey. (Athlete, 22 May 2019)

Other information FROM ITALY TO TURKEY
Born in Milan, Italy, he began representing Turkey in fencing in October 2014. "They had initially contacted me in 2007 due to my performances at the U20 world championships. I had no direct ties to the country but the federation was able to get me a passport on sporting merit." (Athlete, 24 Sep 2015; pianetascherma.com, 23 Apr 2015)

FOCUS ON FENCING
He competed in alpine skiing as a junior in Italy, but eventually made the choice to concentrate on fencing. "When I was a little boy, I had fencing lessons during the week while on the weekend my dad used to take me to Cavalese to ski. I tried all the [alpine skiing] disciplines allowed for my age. Maybe my family preferred me to ski and it was also the sport in which I did better, but starting a career as a professional skier would have meant moving to the mountains and I was very young and not ready for that. At 13 if you want to ski as a pro you have to constantly train, especially in super G where you have to combine technique and feeling with speed. When I started high school and fencing, the choice came by itself. I still ski, but only as a hobby." (Athlete, 22 May 2019; pianetascherma.com, 23 Apr 2015)