Maria Scutti

Maria Scutti
Personal information
NicknameGolden women
NationalityItalian
BornAugust 1928 (1928-08)
Altino, Italy
Died2005 (aged 76–77)
Sport
Country Italy
SportParalympic athletics
Paralympic swimming
Wheelchair fencing
Para table tennis
Retired1962
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Paralympic Games 10 3 2
Paralympic Games
Athletics[1]
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Club Throw A
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Club Throw B
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Javelin A
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Javelin B
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Precision Javelin A
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Precision Javelin B
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Precision Javelin C
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Shot Put A
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Shot Put B
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Rome Club Throw C
Bronze medal – third place 1960 Rome Javelin C
Swimming[2]
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome 50 m Breaststroke C4
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome 50 m Backstroke C4
Fencing[3]
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome Foil Individual
Table tennis[4]
Silver medal – second place 1960 Rome Doubles B

Maria Scutti (August 1928 - 2005) was an Italian paralympic athlete who won 15 medals, ten of which were gold, at the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome.

Nicknamed the "golden woman" (donna d'oro) thanks to these successes, Maria Scutti is the athlete who got the highest number of medals in a single edition of the Paralympic Games (in four different sports), and the second Italian athlete for total number of medals won, behind Roberto Marson (26 medals in 4 editions).[5]

Biography

Scutti at Paralympic foil competition in Rome 1960

Maria Scutti was born in August 1928 in Altino, in the province of Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy. Married and mother of two children, in 1957, at the age of 29, she lost the use of her legs following a road accident while driving a motorcycle-van. During her rehabilitation after hospitalization at the center for paraplegics in Ostia, she discovered a passion for sports and in 1958 began to compete in many disciplines.[6]

Scutti competed in the 1960 Summer Paralympics in her home country, Italy. She entered eleven throwing events in athletics, winning nine of them and coming third in the remaining two.[1] She won a gold in swimming for the 50 m breaststroke as well as a silver in the 50 m backstroke.[2] Scutti also won silver medals in both wheelchair fencing and table tennis.[3][4] These accomplishments mean that Scutti is one of the most successful Paralympians at a single Games.

Ended the sporting career in 1962 with budget of 22 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals, Scutti died in 2005 at the age of 77 years old.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Athletics at the Rome 1960 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Swimming at the Rome 1960 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Wheelchair fencing at the Rome 1960 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Table Tennis at the Rome 1960 Paralympic Games". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  5. ^ Sebastiano Lavecchia (10 January 2017). "Maria Scutti, la donna d'oro di Roma 1960" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 3 August 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b Teresa Di Rocco (9 December 2018). "Altino premia la "donna d'oro"". Il Centro (in Italian). Retrieved 4 April 2021.